Oscars: RRR's globally viral 'Naatu Naatu' wins Best Original Song, India's second award

Los Angeles, March 13

Filmmaker SS Rajamouli’s period action blockbuster “RRR” charted history by becoming the first Indian track to win the Academy Award in the Best Original Song category for “Naatu Naatu”.

In the category, the Telugu song was nominated alongside ‘Applause’ from 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 chartbuster “Naatu Naatu”, composed by MM Keeravaani and penned by Chandrabose, after a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award.

“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 over 4.35 minutes of runtime.

“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.

“Naatu Naatu” was shot in the lawns of the Presidential Palace of Kyiv in Ukraine. Rajamouli recently revealed in an interview 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.

The 95th Academy Awards are underway at the Dolby Theatre here.