At the 95th Academy Awards in Los Angeles (LA), California, the soundtrack to SS Rajamouli’s RRR won the award for Best Original Song. This was a big deal for Indian movies. The MM Keeravani-composed and Chandrabose-penned song “Naatu Naatu” triumphed over stiff opposition from “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick, “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman, “This is Life” from Everything Everywhere All At Once and “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
The achievement makes “Naatu Naatu” the first Indian feature film song to win an Oscar and, earlier this month, the first Indian film to win a Golden Globe. The song, with lyrics by Chandrabose and music by MM Keeravani, features Kala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj. Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava’s rendition of the song “Naatu Naatu” received a standing ovation during the ceremony, and the crowd couldn’t get enough of it. Keeravani, a composer, and Chandrabose, a lyricist, received the honour.
Keeravani gave his acceptance speech as a modified version of a Carpenters song. “I grew up listening to The Carpenters, and now here I am with the Oscars. There was only one wish on my mind, as was Rajamouli’s and our families’… ‘RRR’ has to win… Pride of every Indian… must put me on the top of the world,” Keeravani said in tune to The Carpenters’ 1970s song Top of the World. Meanwhile, Chandrabose simply said, “Namaste!”
The fictional story RRR is set in the 1920s. It is based on the lives of freedom fighters Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem. Jr. NTR, Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn, Olivia Morris, Alison Doody, Samuthirakani, and Ray Stevenson are among the ensemble cast members of the movie. The 2008 British film Slumdog Millionaire’s song “Jai Ho,” written by Gulzar and composed by AR Rahman, became the first Hindi song to win an Academy Award in 2009 for Best Original Song and Best Original Score. But the recent success of “Naatu Naatu” represents a new turning point in Indian cinema, creating new chances for Indian movies and music to be acknowledged and praised on a global scale.
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It is a source of great pride and joy for India that “Naatu Naatu” won the Oscar at the 95th Academy Awards. This win marks the beginning of a new era for Indian movies and opens the door for them to get more attention and success in the international film industry.
