Los Angeles: “Naatu Naatu”, the peppy, foot-tapping chartbuster from SS Rajamouli’s Telugu period action film “RRR”, waltzed its way to history by becoming the first Indian track to win the Academy Award in the Best Original Song category.
“Naatu Naatu”, “Naacho Naacho” in Hindi, is composed by MM Keeravaani and penned by Chandrabose.
“I grew up listening to The Carpenters and now here I am with the Oscars. There was only one wish on my mind, so was Rajamouli’s and our families’ — ‘RRR’ has to win… Pride of every Indian… must put me on the top of the world,” Keeravani said in tune to The Carpenters’ much loved 1970s song “Top of the World”.
Chandrabose simply signed off with a “Namaste” at the 95th Academy Awards here on Sunday night.
“Naatu Naatu” was nominated alongside “Applause” from “Tell It Like a Woman”, ‘Hold My Hand’ from “Top Gun: Maverick”, ‘Lift Me Up’ from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and ‘This Is a Life’ from “Everything Everywhere All at Once”.
This is the third major international recognition for the Telugu song after Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award wins.
The film’s team described the win as a “surreal moment”.
“We’re blessed that #RRRMovie is the first feature film to bring INDIA’s first ever #Oscar in the Best Song Category with #NaatuNaatu! No words can describe this surreal moment. Dedicating this to all our amazing fans across the world. THANK YOU!! JAI HIND!” read the post on the official Twitter page of “RRR”.
“RRR” (Rise Roar Revolt), a pre-independence fictional story, follows two real-life Indian revolutionaries – Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Jr NTR) – in the 1920s.
“Naatu Naatu” celebrates the inclusive spirit of dance and bonhomie and features Charan and Jr NTR matching steps to its catchy rhythm. The title of the track translates to bucolic in Telugu. It demonstrates the spirit of fun in country music in its runtime of 4.35 minutes.
“Jai Ho” from the 2008 British film “Slumdog Millionaire”, directed by Danny Boyle, was the first Hindi song to win an Academy Award in the Best Original Score and Original Song categories. It was composed by AR Rahman and penned by Gulzar.
“Whatever wins up there, an Indian thing is going to raise the profile of India. I love that song,” Rahman told PTI ahead of Oscar 2023.
Rajamouli said in an interview recently that choreographer Prem Rakshith came up with over “100 variations” of the hook step for the song. “Naatu Naatu” singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kala Bhairava also performed the song at the Oscars ceremony.
PTI