RRR’s NATU-NATU Wins Best Original Song at 2023 Oscars
- ByStartupStory | March 13, 2023
The song “Naatu Naatu” from the movie RRR has won the Best Original Song award at the 95th Academy Awards. Composed by MM Keeravani, with lyrics by Chandrabose and vocals by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, the song gained immense popularity following its release in March 2022. After the film’s release on OTT platforms, it gained global recognition and appreciation, receiving love from foreign audiences as well. During his acceptance speech, Keeravani performed a self-composed tribute song to the movie’s director, SS Rajamouli, and the entire country of India.
Earlier in the year, “Naatu Naatu” won the Best Original Song category at the Golden Globes and also received the Best Song award at the Critics’ Choice Awards and the Hollywood Critics Association. It is now in the running for the same category at the Oscars, competing against other nominated songs including “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman (written by Diane Warren), “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun Maverick (performed by Lady Gaga and BloodPop), “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther Wakanda Forever (performed by Tems, Rihanna, and composed by Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson), and “This Is a Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once (composed by Ryan Lott, David Byrne, and Mitski).
Although Naatu Naatu’s creators did not perform at the Oscars, the song was performed by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava on the stage. Deepika Padukone introduced the performance, which received a standing ovation at the ceremony.
Prem Rakshith, the choreographer behind the viral hook steps of a popular song, revealed that he created over 118 steps for the track. The song’s success even helped the film, RRR, make it to the Oscars. Rakshith praised the film’s director, SS Rajamouli, for his vision and hard work, stating that he has choreographed over 1000 songs, but RRR stands out due to its presentation and popularity. The choreographer expressed gratitude towards Rajamouli for the opportunity to work on the film.
Rajamouli, the director of the film RRR, recently spoke to Vanity Fair about the song’s choreographer, Prem Rakshith. According to Rajamouli, Rakshith had a challenging task of making the song visually appealing while keeping the steps simple enough for viewers to replicate and matching the actors’ style. Despite these demands, Rakshith came up with over 100 variations for the hook line of the popular song, Naatu Naatu. The song was filmed at the Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine.
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