Ram Charan, Jr NTR ‘didn’t feel comfortable performing’ Naatu Naatu on stage: Oscars 2023 producer

Initially, the plan was to make the track’s original singers Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj sing live and have Ram Charan and Jr NTR perform on stage with a battalion of dancers. At the ceremony, the singers were joined by a group of dancers on stage.

In an interview with The Academy, Raj said, “Originally, the two leads were going to be the stars of the number alongside the singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava. The show was very instrumental in helping secure working visas for their team to be able to come to the US to be a part of the performance…Once we had the musical edit approved by MM Keeravaani, we did late night Zoom calls with the choreography team in India and Los Angeles. We shared casting choices, costume design ideas, and stage renderings with the team from India.”

He also added, “In late February, we were informed that Ram Charan and NT Rama Rao Jr would be attending the Oscars, but they did not feel comfortable performing the live number on stage. The change was brought on because of their other professional commitments and the limited amount of time to rehearse.”

Raj also said, “The original number was workshopped and rehearsed for two months and was shot over a period of 15 days. The Naatu Naatu performance for the Oscars was rehearsed in Los Angeles with professional dancers for a total of 18 hours of rehearsal and one 90-minute camera blocking.”

At the Oscars ceremony, Rahul and Kaala Bhairava performed Naatu Naatu. Deepika Padukone introduced the performance as the audience cheered on every time she mentioned the song’s name. Naatu Naatu became the song from the first Indian production ever to win an Oscar. SS Rajamouli’s 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.

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