Oscars 2023: 'Naatu Naatu' creates history, wins Best Original Song

Naatu Naatu, from SS Rajamouli’s period blockbuster RRR has won the Oscars in the Best Original Song category.

Sung by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, the song plays during a crucial scene in RRR, a movie about the friendship between real-life Indian revolutionaries – Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem.

Also read: Oscars 2023: ‘Naatu Naatu’ performance receives standing ovation

The song created history on the Oscars stage on Sunday by becoming the first Indian track to win the Academy Award in the Best Original Song category.

In the category, the Telugu song 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 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.

Also read: After Gangnam, desi Naatu Naatu became global sensation; what explains it?

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.

Its singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kala Bhairava also performed the song at the Oscars ceremony to an electrifying hook step performance by dancers from across ethnicities.

The performance, which received a standing ovation, was introduced by Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone

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Padukone, had to pause at least thrice in between owing to the loud cheers from the A-list audience while introducing the performance.

For the over two-minute-long act, the organisers recreated the set of the song which was originally shot in the lawns of the Presidential Palace of Kyiv, Ukraine. The two male dancers – who were dressed as Ram Charan’s Ram and Jr NTR’s Bheem – were lip syncing the song. American dancer Lauren Gottlieb, who has worked extensively in the Indian film industry, was also part of the dance troupe.

(With inputs from agencies)