Los Angeles (PTI): Danny Boyle's film "Slumdog Millionaire" has received the coveted best film of the year award by the National Board of Review of Motion Picture (NBRMP), making it a strong contender for the Oscars.

The films, which are selected by the board are considered strong favourite in the Academy Awards. They are also referred as pre-Oscar awards. Boyle shot the film extensively at various places in Mumbai including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, which witnessed an unprecedented terror attacks last week, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Directed by Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire" is based on a book "Q and A" by Indian writer Vikas Swarup. It traces the journey of a poor young man from the slums of Mumbai, who ends up winning one crore rupees in game show "Kaun Banega Karorpati", the Indian version of American TV show "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire."

Dev Patel plays the lead character in this rags to riches story while Indian actor Anil Kapoor is in the role of the game show host. The NBR awards will be presented at the annual gala event on January 14 in New York.

Hollywood actor-director Clint Eastwood won the title of best actor for his role in "Gran Torino" while Anne Hathaway received the best actress award for "Rachel Getting Married".

David Fincher was named best director for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," which is based on a short story by F Scott Fitzgerald. The award for best supporting roles went to Josh Brolin for "Milk" and Penelope Cruz for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." Film "Mongo" from Kazakhstan won the award for best foreign language film, while "Man on Wire" earned best documentary honours.