Oscar Win “Naatu Naatu” a Proud Moment for India
Warsha Choudhary
Mar 13, 2023
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RRR's song "Naatu Naatu" won the Best Original Song Oscar at the 95th Academy Awards. The live performance at the ceremony was introduced by Deepika Padukone.
It took around 19 months for all the elements of the superhit musical number Naatu Naatu - which won a historic Oscar for Best Original Song - to fall into place.
A track from Telugu blockbuster RRR, short for Rise Roar Revolt, Naatu Naatu was the first Indian film song to be nominated for an Oscar.
Its singers also performed at the Academy Awards, which are being aired in India.
The song became a global sensation - inspiring endless Instagram reels and dance trends on social media - after the film's release in the US last year, where its quick tempo and synchronized choreography were an instant hit with the audiences.
Composed by MM Keeravani with lyrics penned by Chandrabose, Naatu Naatu already made history once in January when it won the Golden Globe for best original song, defeating contenders like Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and Lady Gaga. The same month, the song also won the Critics Choice award for the best song.
"It's not just because of the music or the dance - the entire story of RRR can be summarised within these 10 minutes of Naatu Naatu," the film's director, SS Rajamouli, told Vanity Fair.
A historical fantasy, featuring superstars Ram Charan and Jr NTR in lead roles, RRR tells the fictional story of two revolutionaries who fight against British rule in India.
Rajamouli says he envisioned Naatu Naatu as a "fight scene" in which two freedom fighters bring a British officer to his knees - through dance.
"The song is a story within the larger story of the film," the filmmaker said.
Even though the track was shot in front of the Mariinsky Palace, a gorgeous sea-blue structure in Ukraine, Rajamouli said he aimed to recreate the atmosphere of an Indian village. In past interviews, the director has confessed that people called him "crazy" for shooting in a country on the verge of war.
The team shot the song over 15 days, working 12 hours a day with 150 dancers and a crew of 200 people.
Rakshit said that every time he okayed a take, Rajamouli would ask for "one more" shot.
"He went frame by frame to make sure we were in sync," Charan said in an interview.
Nearly a year after its release, the song is still going strong with the audiences. And with an Oscar win, the excitement shows no signs of dying down.
As Charan said, the "song is no longer our song. It belongs to the public. People of different age groups and cultures have embraced it."
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