20 Most Memorable Oscar Moments

I usually wake up each morning around 7:30 AM with my day starting with a cup of tea and listening to gurbani and katha live from Golden Temple on PTC. However, yesterday was a little different. I woke up at 6 AM and my day started with the same cup of tea but watching Oscars live on Star Movies. Such are the hardships of being in a different time zone but it was still not going to stop me from catching one of my favorite events of the year live on television.

It is always a treat watching the Annual Academy Awards and this year was no different. This year in 2012, the Oscars turned 84 & timeless. The talent that walks through the doors of this academy year after year is unmatchable. Here are some of the most memorable moments of the 84th Annual Academy Awards from my personal list:

Cameron Diaz

Viola Davis

Penelope Cruz

1. Viola Davis, Cameron Diaz & Penelope Cruz rocking the Red Carpet. As per me, these were the three best dressed women at the Oscars yesterday. Oh, and single diamond strings rock!
2. A.R. Rehman playing on the keys as an integral part of the Oscar orchestra band. They focused the camera on him a couple of times during the entire show. Anyone not Indian probably did not even notice that Rehman was playing at the event.
3. Meryl Streep, winning her third Oscar for the Best Actor in a Leading Role, Female. Meryl is my favorite actress and she is just out of this world. She is one female who can portray almost any type of woman on this planet and I especially like her in strong, powerful characters like the one she played in 'The Iron Lady' this year.
4. Robert Richardson's long grey hair with a center partition. He is the Cinematographer who won an Oscar for the movie, Hugo. I am telling you, long hair in men are so back in fashion. Even Brad Pitt was supporting the look although with him, it's usually hard to tell whether he is being stylish or just in between transitions for some character he is playing in one of his films.
5. Octavia Spencer's winning speech for Best Supporting Actor, Female for The Help. It started out oh so emotional and she got a standing ovation but then she just kind of lost herself in this funny but innocent way. She looked like such a cute chubby bear. :)
6. Billy Crystal, the host of the show introducing presenters, Jennifer Lopez & Cameron Diaz as "a recurring dream of mine".  
7. Christopher Plummer, 82 years old, becoming the oldest actor to win an Oscar. Plummer won for Best Actor in a supporting role for The Beginners. I also loved it when he thanked his wife in the end for coming to his rescue each & every single day and keeping him at peace.
8. Jonah Hills, the lovable nerd looking super chic in a tuxedo with a wonderful woman as his date - his mom.
9. Ben Stiller looking so damn short when presenting right next to Emma Stone. They should have given him a platform to stand on. Really!
10. George Clooney with yet another supermodel on his arm. It was funny how Billy Crystal commented from on-stage how great a kisser Clooney was to his date. I wonder when will this man ever stop dating supermodels? Is there anyone left who he hasn't dated yet? Well, I guess Clooney is the only one on the planet who is allowed to do that. He is hot!
11. The Cirque De Soleil act. I have seen several Cirque De Soleil performances in the past but I specifically liked this one for how they interpreted the experience of going to the movies with the use of their acrobatics. 
12. The academy remembering the members who lost their lives this past year. The three that especially stood out to me were Whitney Houston, Elizabeth Taylor and Steve Jobs. Yes, Steve Jobs was an academy member. Remember, he was the executive behind Pixar Animation Studios that has given us amazing feature films like Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., Cars, Wall-E, Up, Ratatouille & Toy Story?
13. Final oscar nominations for the last Harry Potter movie, a series that has collectively made $7.7 billion since its debut in 2001 and paid only 14% in income taxes.
14. Hot siren satanic red lip color on Angelina Jolie. No, I don't like Angelina Jolie, her looks or her lips. In fact, I hate how she is so bony and her lips look like they are on steroids. I just like the hot red color of the lipstick she used yesterday. It was nice to see someone leaving the neutral look & going back to the bold basics for a change. But how I wish she hadn't performed 'that pose'. Lost all her grace that she puts up of being a mother, peace ambassador & a humanitarian.
15. Robert Downing Jr. looking & acting ssssoooooooo charming as always. Ahhhh, needn't I say more?
16. Chris Rock presenting the Oscar for the Best Animated Movie. Chris is just such a funny guy. He makes me laugh as soon as he opens his mouth to say anything. I think he was the best presenter at the Oscars yesterday - simple, genuine, casual and funny. I loved how he said "animation is not hard work, it's easy. UPS is hard work." (it sounds realllyyy funny when Chris Rock says it) :) Another part of his speech I thought was so funny when he said that "in animation, you can become anything. If you are a white man, you can become a handsome arabian prince. If you are a black man, you can become a donkey or a zebra" (referring to his own roles as a donkey in Shrek and a zebra in Madagascar) hehehe...Chris Rock, you are funny, man!
17. Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, first Pakistani to win an Oscar for her Best Documentary Feature, 'Saving Face' along with Daniel Jung. Saving Face is a documentary that shines light on one of the cruelest forms of violence being committed on women in Pakistan for years in which women's faces & bodies are attacked & destroyed with acid by abusive husbands and in-laws. I feel a very strong & personal connection with this movie because my best friend, Hafsa Haseeb, is one woman in Pakistan who has been working very hard for years on this cause to create a change with her Depilex SmileAgain Foundation. A toast to womanhood!
18. The Wizard of Oz 1939 Focus Group short. It was great to see famous comics like the American Pie Dad & the Legally Blonde manicurist on board of the Focus group providing a satire on how common every day people are used to provide feedback on high art cinema with Fred Willard interfering every now & then asking for ' some flying monkeys' in the movie. 
19. Iran taking home its first Oscar for the Best Foreign Language film, 'A Separation'. A Separation is a story about a married couple who are conflicted with the decision of moving to a new country to improve the life of a child or stay back in Iran to take care of a deteriorating parent with Alzheimers. Asghar Farhadi, the writer & director, dedicated the award to the people of Iran, who he said, respect all cultures & civilizations, something that gets hidden under the heavy dust of politics due to the current tension and possible conflict between Iran and the West, notably over Iran's controversial nuclear program. 
20. 'The Artist' becoming the first ever black & white silent movie since 1928 to win Best Film. I have no words. Truly & very well deserved!

These were my 20 most memorable moments of Oscars 2012. Congratulations to all the winners & nominees and great job to the academy for putting on yet another amazing show this year.