The film that drew A R Rahman

Bollywood music powerhouses AR Rahman, Gulzar, and Sukhwinder Singh feature in the list of nominees for the 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards announced Tuesday, December 9.

They are in contention for their work in British Director Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire which won a whopping six nominations as follows:

Best Picture, Best Director (Danny Boyle), Best Writer (Simon Beaufoy), Best Young Actor/Actress (Under 21) (Dev Patel), Best Song ("Jaiho" - Sukhwinder Singh/A.R. Rahman and Gulzar ), Best Composer (AR Rahman).

Though Slumdog Millionaire is a hot favorite for the upcoming award season it trailed Milk and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which led the pack on Tuesday with eight nominations each.

Milk received nominations for Best Picture, a Best Actor nod for Sean Penn, two Best Supporting Actor nominations for James Franco and Josh Brolin, Best Director for Gus Van Sant, Best Writer for Dustin Lance Black, and Best Composer for Danny Elfman.

The eight nominations for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button are for Best Picture, a Best Actor nomination for Brad Pitt, Best Actress for Cate Blanchett, Best Supporting Actress for Taraji P. Henson, Best Acting Ensemble, Best Director for David Fincher, Best Writer for Eric Roth, and Best Composer for Alexandre Desplat.

Other nominations for The Best Song category include:
"Another Way to Die" – Jack White and Alicia Keys/Jack White – Quantum of Solace
"Down to Earth" – Peter Gabriel/Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman – Wall-E
"I Thought I Lost You" – Miley Cyrus and John Travolta/Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele – Bolt
"The Wrestler" – Bruce Springsteen/ Bruce Springsteen – The Wrestler

AR Rahman is competing with the following for The Best Composer Award:
Alexandre Desplat – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Clint Eastwood – Changeling
Danny Elfman – Milk
Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard – The Dark Knight