New Delhi: After winning the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Awards, ‘Naatu Naatu’ from filmmaker SS Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’ on Monday (March 13, 2023) won the Oscar in the Best Original Song category. Composed by MM Keeravani and penned by Chandrabose, the Telugu chartbuster has now become the first Indian track to win an Academy Award in the Best Original Song category.
‘Naatu Naatu’ was nominated in the category With ‘Applause’ from ‘Tell It Like a Woman’, ‘Hold My Hand’ from ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, ‘Lift Me Up’ from ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ and the Oscar-winning film ‘This Is a Life’ ‘Everything together everywhere’.
‘Naatu Naatu’ from ‘RRR’ wins the Oscar for Best Original Song! #Oscar #Oscar95 pic.twitter.com/tLDCh6zwmn— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 13, 2023
However, very few people know that “Naatu Naatu” of RRR was shot in Ukraine.
The song, which showcases a sense of fun in country music with a runtime of over 4.35 minutes, was shot on the lawn of the Presidential Palace in Kiev.
It begins when the action epic’s two leads – Ram Charan and NT Rama Rao Jr – show off their dancing skills after being bullied as the only Indian people invited to a British party in colonial times.
When a young British man is the target of a racist insult in leadership, they decide to educate him using the song “Natu Natu”.
The superhit song celebrates the inclusive spirit of dance and camaraderie and features Charan and Jr NTR grooving to its catchy beats.
Composer Keeravani told Reuters in a recent interview, “Naatu means ethnicity, ethnicity.”
Since the film’s release in 2022, this fast-paced dance number has found fans all over the world. It has also spawned a TikTok challenge and has garnered millions of views on YouTube.
Director Rajamouli also revealed in a recent interview that choreographer Prem Rakshit came up with “over 100 variations” of the hook step for the song.
“RRR” (Rise Roar Revolt) is a pre-independence fictional story and follows two real-life Indian revolutionaries – Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Junior NTR) in the 1920s.
RRR’s ‘Naatu Naatu’ is the first song from an Indian film to win an Oscar
“Natu Natu” is now First song from an Indian film to win an Oscar,
we are blessed #RRRMovie The first feature film to bring India’s first feature film is #Oscar in the Best Song category with #granddaughter,
No words can describe this supernatural moment.
Dedicating this to all our amazing fans around the world. Thank you!!
JAI HIND!pic.twitter.com/9g5izBCUks— RRR Movie (@RRRMovie) March 13, 2023
In 2008, composer AR Rahman won an Oscar for the Hindi song “Jai Ho”, but that was for the US-British production of “Slumdog Millionaire”, which was set in India.