The song Naatu Naatu from the film RRR was named best original song during a historic evening for Indian and Asian cinema. An Indian blockbuster first.
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| Naatu Naatu song |
" Do you know who Naatu is?" Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava sang Naatu Naatu, the highlight of the film RRR (2022), directed by SS Rajamouli, as one of the highlights of the 2023 Oscars event. After the release of the Indian blockbuster in March 2022, the song has gained international fame, notably beating Rihanna and Lady Gaga for Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), respectively. This is a first for an Indian film, with a Bollywood song never before receiving an Oscar nomination. A few hours earlier, the Indian short film The Elephant Whisperers was named best documentary short, kicking off an extraordinary evening for a film sector with a significant production.
RRR, the most costly Indian movie in history, with a budget of roughly $72 million, has been a tidal wave since its premiere in 2022. The feature film, set in the 1920s, portrays the fictitious battle of two historical people, Rama Raju and Komaram Bheem, who band together against the British Raj. In the great tradition of Bollywood films, the film's enhanced action moments were alternated with singing and comedic parts, echoing Hindu mythology. The film became the third highest-grossing Indian film in history, and the second in Telugu, the language in which RRR is shot, thanks to international word of mouth.