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It is a low-budget movie made in the exotic slums of Mumbai, partly in Hindi, and with a no-name cast. But it won the hearts of moviegoers and on Sunday night, it won the heart of Oscar as well.

Slumdog Millionaire — the rags-to-riches story of a young man who overcomes the odds to rescue the love of his life and walk away with a fortune in a TV game show — was on the verge of sweeping the 81st Academy Awards by winning eight of the 10 awards for which it was nominated, including best picture and best director for Danny Boyle.

Boyle, who jumped into the air in the style of the Winnie the Pooh character, Tigger — he said he promised his children he would do that if he ever won an Academy Award — thanked the people of Mumbai, looking at the Oscar and saying, “You dwarf even this guy.”

In the night’s closest contest — Sean Penn vs. Mickey Rourke for best actor — Penn won for his portrayal of real-life gay rights activist Harvey Milk in Milk. Penn, who previously won an Oscar in the same category for Mystic River in 2004, looked over the crowd of fellow nominees and Hollywood glitterati and said, “You commie, homo-loving sons of guns.”

In his speech, Penn also made a plea for gay rights legislation and saluted fellow nominee Rourke “who despite a sensitivity that has brought enormous challenges . . . rises again.”

Kate Winslet was named best actress for her portrayal of a former Nazi concentration camp guard who has an affair with a teenager in The Reader. Winslet, 33, had been nominated six times for an Oscar — the youngest person ever to reach that mark — before winning.

But the night belonged to Slumdog Millionaire, which began its run at glory with the award for adapted screenplay, presented to Simon Beaufoy, who wrote the story based on the book Q & A by Vikas Swarup. Slumdog also won the cinematography award for Anthony Dod Mantle, an award that turned into one of the night’s comic highlights when presenter Ben Stiller dressed in a Rasputin beard and dark glasses and mumbled his introduction, a parody of the famous Joaquin Phoenix non-interview on the David Letterman show.

The movie also took the awards for best song for Jai Ho — the tune that’s played over the closing credits — best score, editing and sound mixing. It lost only sound editing to The Dark Knight. It had been nominated for two best song awards.

In the night’s most moving moment, the late Heath Ledger was named best supporting actor for his role as The Joker, the menacing villain in smeared clown makeup in this year’s box office champion, The Dark Knight. Ledger, who died last January of an accidental drug overdose, was the sixth person in Academy Awards history to be nominated for a posthumous Oscar and only the second — after Peter Finch in 1976, for Network — to win.

As expected, Spanish actress Penelope Cruz overcame Oscar’s reluctance to honour comedy and won the award as best supporting actress for her role as the fiery ex-wife in Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona. “Has anybody ever fainted here?,” Cruz asked as she accepted the award. “Because I might be the first one.”

Dustin Lance Black’s script for Milk won the award for original screenplay. Black had a message for gay and lesbian children.

“God does love you and very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally across this great nation of ours.”

Oscar winners

Best picture

Slumdog Millionaire

Best Director

Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor

Sean Penn, Milk

Best Actress

Kate Winslet, The Reader

Best Supporting actor

Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Supporting actress

Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Animated feature

WINNER: “WALL-E”

Best Adapted screenplay

Slumdog Millionaire, screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Original screenplay

Milk, written by Dustin Lance Black

Art direction

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Donald Graham Burt; set decoration: Victor J. Zolfo

Cinematography

Slumdog Millionaire, Anthony Dod Mantle

Costume design

The Duchess, Michael O’Connor

Documentary feature

Man on Wire

Documentary short

Smile Pinki

Film editing

Slumdog Millionaire

Foreign language film

The Baader Meinhof Complex