In a proud moment for India, 'Naatu Naatu' from RRR bagged the Oscar for Best Original Song, making it the first Indian song to do so. 'Naatu Naatu', composed by M.M. Keeravani, had swept the award season, already bagging the Golden Globe award in the category. The 95th Academy Awards are being held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
The song received a standing ovation at the Dolby Theatre as it was performed shortly before the award was announced. Deepika Padukone took to the stage to introduce the ‘Naatu Naatu’ musical performance by Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj.
PM Narendra Modi congratulated the RRR team on Twitter and wrote, "Exceptional! The popularity of ‘Naatu Naatu’ is global. It will be a song that will be remembered for years to come."
The song was up against '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. The song written by Chandrabose had become a viral sensation, racking up over millions of views on YouTube. Many celebrities and social media stars danced to the beats and tried to recreate the acrobatic dance-off between Jr NTR and Ram Charan in the original song sequence. Choreographer Prem Rakshith had reportedly come up with more than 100 variations for the hook line 'Naatu Naatu'.
RRR follows a pre-Independence fictional story woven around two real-life Indian revolutionaries - Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Jr NTR) - in the 1920s. The film also features Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn, and Shriya Saran in key roles.
Interestingly, the song was shot outside Ukraine's presidential palace in Kyiv. Rajamouli said they were originally supposed to shoot the song in India but due to the monsoon season they had to zero in on a new location.