Los Angeles: 'Naatu Naatu', the hit dance track from the Telugu movie "RRR" became the first Indian track to win the award for the 'Best Original Song' at the 95th Academy Award on Monday.
The Oscar ceremony was held early Monday morning (India time) at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
The composer of the song MM Keeravani broke into a little song on how he's on 'the top of the world' during his acceptance speech at the Oscar ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Naatu Naatu, the foot tapping fun number from the Rajamouli film, competed with 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.
This is the third major international recognition for the chartbuster Naatu Naatu, composed by MM Keeravaani and penned by Chandrabose, after a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award.
The song is an award season sensation in Hollywood, recalling the wave created by A R Rahman's "Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire". Rahman, Gulzar and Resul Pookutty had scripted history by claiming three of the statuettes from the film's eight wins in 2009.
Jai Ho from the 2008 British film Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle, was the first Hindi song to win an Academy Award in the Best Original Score and Original Song categories. It was composed by AR Rahman and penned by Gulzar.
"Naatu Naatu", which features in SS Rajamouli's "RRR" (Rise Roar Revolt), celebrates the inclusive spirit of dance and bonhomie and features Ram Charan and Jr NTR matching steps to its catchy rhythm. The title of the track translates to bucolic in Telugu. It demonstrates the spirit of fun in country music in its over 4.35 minutes of runtime.
"Naatu Naatu" was shot in the lawns of the Presidential Palace of Kyiv in Ukraine. Rajamouli recently revealed in an interview that choreographer Prem Rakshith came up with over "100 variations" of the hook step for the song.
Oscar performance
Meanwhile, the electrifying performance of the Telugu track "Naatu Naatu" by singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava at the Academy Awards stage brought the Dolby Theatre to life with dancers of all ethnicities acing the hook step of the international music sensation from "RRR".
The performance, which received a standing ovation, was introduced by Hindi cinema star Deepika Padukone, who had to pause at least thrice in between owing to the loud cheers from the A-list audience.
The two male dancers -- who were dressed as Ram Charan's Ram and Jr NTR's Bheem -- were lip syncing the song. American dancer Lauren Gottlieb, who has worked extensively in the Indian film industry, was also part of the dance troupe.
(With inputs from PTI.)
