As we wait in anticipation for Naatu Naatu to rock the Oscars, here’s what else to root for at the 95th outing at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on Monday morning

Mona

The Oscars is all set to be star-studded affair in its 95th outing at Hollywood’s iconic Dolby Theatre. As the Academy invites Jimmy Kimmel to host the event, cinephiles across the globe are looking forward to Sunday night rooting for their favourites to lift the coveted honours. For ‘the perfect host’, Kimmel, it’s going to be his third Academy outing after 2017 and 2018.

India @ Oscars 2023

India has high hopes at clinching the oft eluding trophy! Three Indian titles stand a chance at the Academy Award in three different categories.

Naatu Naatu from RRR is nominated in the Best Original Song category. It’s pitched against Applause (Tell It like a Woman), Hold My Hand (Top Gun: Maverick), Lift Me Up (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) and This Is A Life (Everything Everywhere All at Once).

All That Breathes is in competition for the Best Documentary Feature Film along with All The Beauty And The Bloodshed, Fire Of Love, A House Made Of Splinters and Navalny.

Shaunak Sen’s documentary follows siblings, Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad, who rescue and treat injured birds. All The Beauty explores the life of activist Nan Goldin; Fire Of Love is about volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft; A House follows the story of children from a special orphanage in eastern Ukraine and Navalny documents events related to the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The Elephant Whisperers is vying for the Best Documentary Short Film and is fighting against Haulout, How Do You Measure A Year?, The Martha Mitchell Effect and Stranger At The Gate. Kartiki Gonsalves’s The Elephant Whisperers documents the bond between a couple and an orphaned elephant Raghu. Haulout is about Russian scientist Maxim Chakilev; How Do You Measure A Year? is about bonding between a father and his daughter. The Martha Mitchell Effect centres around the Watergate whistleblower and Stranger At The Gate is based on an Afghan refugee coming face to face with a US Marine, who has secret plans to bomb their community centre.

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The star-studded presenter brigade includes Emily Blunt, Dwayne Johnson, Michael B. Jordan, Zoe Saldana, Jennifer and Melissa McCarthy along with others. It also has Indian presence in Deepika Padukone. The Pathaan actress recently turned heads at Paris Fashion Week.

Jai NTR

Gathering steam for Naatu Naatu, that’s already won Critics’ Choice Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Hollywood Critics Association, RRR actor NTR Jr landed in the US to a warm welcome. As his fans showered their idol with flowers and cheers of Jai NTR, he bowled over his fans with his humility, “I love you more than you guys love me. You’re all my brothers though we are not related by blood. Our relationship is stronger than any blood relationship. I’m indebted to you.”

In the first time forever

Promoting RRR ahead of Oscars, actor Ram Charan became the first Indian to ever appear on the popular talk show, Good Morning America, in New York. He touched hearts with his humility on the show. It’s also a lavish babymoon for him and wife Upasana who are expecting their first child.

High hopes

• Everything Everywhere All at Once leads the pack with 11 nominations in Best Picture, Director, Actress and Original Screenplay and other categories.
• Martin McDonagh’s Irish black tragicomedy film The Banshees of Inisherin and Edward Berger’s German epic anti-war film All Quiet on the Western Front score an impressive nine Oscar nominations.

The 95th Academy Awards are due on March 13 (IST).

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