Slumdog Millionaire, the much-hyped romantic comedy by British director Danny Boyle, has raised Oscar hopes further after receiving five Critics' Choice Awards including best picture and best director.

The Mumbai-based film about a boy from the slums who appears on a TV game show in order to win back his lost love also won best writer for Simon Beaufoy, best young actor for star Dev Patel and best composer for A R Rahman.

Accepting his award in California, Boyle acknowledged the recent Mumbai bombings.

"Mumbai has had a tough time recently. And the film was made as a love song to that amazing, extraordinary city. They will be so chuffed to hear about this," said the Trainspotting director.

He added: "It's amazing to see how generous you have been to our film."

Other winners at the event included an absent Kate Winslet, who was awarded the best supporting actress prize for her role in The Reader, as well as Waltz with Bashir for best foreign language movie and Man on Wire for best documentary feature.