‘Naatu Naatu’ wins the Best Original Song and ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ wins an Oscar in the Best Documentary Short Film category…reports Asian Lite News
‘Naatu Naatu’ picturised on Ram Charan and NTR Jr from the film ‘RRR’ made India proud again as it won the Best Original Song at the 95th Academy Awards. Also, India’s short documentary ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ has brought home an Oscar in the Best Documentary Short Film category.
Leaving behind names such as Lady Gaga, Diane Warren and Rihanna, ‘Naatu Naatu’ made history after contending against songs such as ‘Applause’ from ‘Tell It Like a Woman’, ‘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’.
Music composer M.M. Keeravaani said on receiving the honour: “Thank you Academy. I grew up listening to The Carpenters… and here I am at the Oscars. There was only one wish on my mind… So was Rajamouli’s and my family… ‘RRR’, pride of every Indian. Thank you.”
‘Naatu Naatu’ has already won a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice Award this year.
‘RRR’ stars NTR Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt and Shriya Saran and tells the fictional story of two real-life Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem and their fight against the British Raj.
Set in the 1920s, the plot explores the undocumented period in their lives when both the revolutionaries chose to go into obscurity before they began the fight for their country.
Meanwhile, ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ was competing in the category alongside ‘Haulout’, ‘How Do You Measure a Year?’, ‘The Martha Mitchell Effect’ and ‘Stranger at the Gate’.
The documentary was received by the director Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga. Kartiki talked about the film and said it is for coexistence and thanked the Academy Awards for recognising their work.
The ‘Elephant Whisperers’ marks Kartiki Gonsalves’ directorial debut. The documentary is about the bond that develops between a couple and an orphaned baby elephant, Raghu, who was entrusted to their care.
Talking about ‘Naatu Naatu’, the song, as mentioned, the lyrical composition by MM Keeravani, high energy rendition by singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, unique choreography by Prem Rakshith, and lyrics by Chandrabose are all the elements that make this ‘RRR’ mass anthem a perfect dance craze.
The song competed against ‘Applause’ from the film ‘Tell It Like A Woman,’ ‘Hold My Hand’ from the movie ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ ‘Lift me Up’ from ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,’ and ‘This Is Life,’ from ‘Everything, Everywhere All At Once’.
The film is a fictional story based on the lives of two Telugu freedom fighters, Alluri Seetharama Raju and Komaram Bheem. Ram Charan and Jr NTR played lead roles, respectively. The film collected over Rs 1,200 crore worldwide. Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn and Shriya Saran also starred in the film.
Keeravani floors audience
M.M. Keeravani is a man of few words, but he has mastered the art of bringing the house down across his many public appearances in America.
In an unusual acceptance speech that got him several rounds of applause, Keeravani gave his unusual spin to the ageless hit of The Carpenters, ‘Top of the World’, that many of his age have grown up grooving to.
“I grew up listening to The Carpenters and now here I am with the Oscars,” Keeravani began, and then started singing his own version of the ’70s pop smash hit: “There was only one wish on my mind. … ‘RRR’ has to win, pride of every Indian, and must put me on top of the world.”
The brothers-and-sister duo, Karen and Richard Carpenter, became hugely popular and sold more than 100 million albums in the 1970s, their joint career coming to an end when Karen succumbed to anorexia nervosa, the eating disorder.
In an interview to ‘Variety’, Keeravani had said: “The ‘Naatu Naatu’ song has to make you forget everything — and not just the viewer who is watching the movie, but the characters from the story, too, need to forget every other thing happening around them and pay their full attention towards the song. And the coda, the end part of the song, consists of so much stamina, you cannot call it merely a song — it is an action sequence.”
Well, the song did make the star-studded audience at the 95th Academy Awards everything else for a moment, and just surrender to the high-octane energy of the anthem that ‘RRR’ has gifted to the world.
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