Naatu Naatu creates history with Oscar win, is 1st ever Indian song to do so

“There was only one wish on my mind…RRR has to win …the pride of every Indian…and it must put me on the top of the world.” said an ecstatic MM Keeravaani on the Oscars stage, as he went on to thank director SS Rajamouli. The composer made a special tribute to the music of The Carpenters, whose music had inspired him in his career, and sang his own take on their classic “Top of the World” number in his acceptance speech. Earlier in the ceremony, actor Deepika Padukone, dressed in a black off-shoulder Louis Vuitton dress, introduced the performance. The ‘Naatu Naatu’ performance saw a squadron of dancers grooving with high energy. Composer MM Keeravaani and actors Ram Charan and NTR Jr sat in the audience and cheered for the singers. The performance also earned a standing ovation in the ceremony.

The official Twitter handle of RRR posted after the historic win and wrote in the caption: “We’re blessed that #RRRMovie is the first feature film to bring INDIA’s first ever #Oscar in the Best Song Category with #NaatuNaatu! No words can describe this surreal moment. (folded hands emoticon) Dedicating this to all our amazing fans across the world. THANK YOU!! (red hearts emoticons) JAI HIND!”

Naatu Naatu has become an international phenomenon in the past few months. In all the recent screenings of RRR in the west, the song got the audiences hooting and dancing. Over the months, several videos of western audiences seen dancing in the theatre to the song have surfaced on social media. The foot-tapping fun number competed alongside other nominations that included Tell It Like a Woman from the movie of the same name, 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 official Twitter handle of the film also posted a short clip that captured the winning moment for ‘Naatu Naatu’, where director SS Rajamouli could be seen cheering for the team.

Earlier, talking about performing the track on stage, Kaala said they are grateful to the Academy for giving the singers an opportunity to perform Naatu Naatu on the stage. “It’s going to be fun. There’s going to be lots of dance and energy. RRR is very rooted in its nativity. The most beautiful part of Oscars is that everyone comes and represents their culture and art forms,” he told The Hollywood Reporter at the red carpet.

Released last March in cinemas, RRR is a fictional story set in the 1920s pre-independent era and is based on the lives of two real heroes and well-known revolutionaries – Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem. While Ram Charan played Ram, Tarak was seen as Bheem.

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