RRR’s Naatu Naatu and The Elephant Whisperers win Oscars for India

The 95th Academy Awards were held in Los Angeles, and RRR arrived, witnessed, and utterly dominated them. There is no question that Naatu Naatu won the Oscar for Best Original Song—be let’s honest, was it ever going to lose?—and it is imperative that you maintain your composure. The Oscars were given to the lyricist Chandrabose and the composer MM Keeravaani, who accepted the prize by singing a rendition of Top Of The World by The Carpenters.

The film RRR, which was directed by SS Rajamouli and stars Ram Charan and Jr. NTR and was in attendance at the Academy Awards, has the incredibly popular song. The song Naatu Naatu triumphed over a group of formidable rivals, including Lady Gaga’s Hold My Hand from Top Gun: Maverick, Rihanna’s Raise Me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, This Is A Life from Everything Everywhere All At Once, and Applause from Tell It Like a Woman.

The Elephant Whisperers, an Indian movie, has previously won for Best Documentary Short Subject. The Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film went to Navalny, even though All That Breathes was also nominated.

Because Naatu Naatu also took up the Golden Globe for Best Original Music in January, her reign over the world is now complete. Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava sang the song live during the Oscar ceremony, and Lauren Gottlieb danced to it. The performance was introduced by Deepika Padukone, who joined Persis Khambatta and Priyanka Chopra as the third Indian presenter at the event.

MM Keeravaani and Chandrabose are the latest additions to a limited group of Indians who have won Oscars in the past, including famous filmmaker Satyajit Ray who earned an honorary prize, costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, composer AR Rahman, lyricist Gulzar, and sound engineer Resul Pookutty. The first Indian song to win an Oscar was Naatu Naatu, and the first Indian film to win an Oscar was RRR.

RRR, a film about Colonial India, has garnered admirers all over the world. It is playing to packed theatres in Japan, and it recently conducted its biggest screening yet in a theatre in Los Angeles, where the audience sang along to Naatu Naatu. The song features an upbeat dance battle between Ram Charan and Jr NTR’s characters Raju and Bheem and their British opponents. It was shot outside the Presidential Palace in pre-war Kyiv, Ukraine. The last two men dancing, er, standing, are Raju and Bheem after their intricate performance defeats the competition.

India at Oscars  –

India has a rich history of cinema and has produced many talented filmmakers, actors, and technicians over the years. Indian cinema has been recognized and honored at the Oscars several times, both in the main categories as well as in the technical categories.

Some of the most notable Indian films that have won Oscars include:

• “Gandhi” (1982), directed by Richard Attenborough, which won 8 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Ben Kingsley.
• “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008), directed by Danny Boyle, which won 8 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
• “Life of Pi” (2012), directed by Ang Lee, which won 4 Oscars including Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects.

Apart from these, there have been several Indian films that have been nominated in various categories at the Oscars. Some of the recent examples include:

• “Lagaan” (2001), directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.
• “Mother India” (1957), directed by Mehboob Khan, which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.
• “Newton” (2017), directed by Amit V Masurkar, which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.
• “Period. End of Sentence.” (2018), directed by Rayka Zehtabchi, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject.

Several Indian actors and technicians have also been nominated for Oscars. Some of the most notable examples include:

• Ben Kingsley, who won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi in “Gandhi”.
• A.R. Rahman, who won the Best Original Song and Best Original Score Oscars for “Slumdog Millionaire”.
• Bhanu Athaiya, who won the Best Costume Design Oscar for “Gandhi”.
• Resul Pookutty, who won the Best Sound Mixing Oscar for “Slumdog Millionaire”.