India enjoyed its first Golden Globe win on Tuesday night when Naatu Naatu, a viral production number of the Telugu film RRR, won best original song.
Directed by successful filmmaker SS Rajamouli, RRR stars Ram Charan and NTR Jr. in a flashy action musical about Indians resisting British rule.
Prominent Indians, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to movie stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra, rejoiced in their country’s triumph.
Hit: India enjoyed its first Golden Globe win on Tuesday night when Naatu Naatu, a viral production number of the Telugu film RRR, won best original song.
RRR was also nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category but lost to the acclaimed Argentine film Argentina, 1985.
However, Naatu Naatu, with lyrics by Chandrabose and music by MM Keeravani, both staples of Telugu cinema, sailed to awards glory in America on Tuesday.
The composer, a cousin of the director of RRR, took the stage alone to collect the award and showered his collaborators with praise.
Chandrabose’s bold names rejoiced on Twitter, including Hindi film legend Amitabh Bachchan, who shared his congratulations in English and Telugu.
Premise: Directed by highly successful filmmaker SS Rajamouli, RRR stars Ram Charan (left) and Jr. NTR (right) in a swanky action musical about Indians resisting British rule.
Blockbuster: RRR director Rajamouli, who has cited Hollywood movies like Braveheart and Kung Fu Panda as his influences, has become a reliable hitmaker in India.
Priyanka Chopra hailed an ‘Incredible win for Indian cinema!’ while Prime Minister Modi stated, “This prestigious honor has made every Indian proud.”
Anupama Chopra, one of India’s best-known film critics, tweeted about Keeravani: “An artist who has provided us with memorable music for decades, it’s so heartening to see him and the brilliant #NaatuNaatu achieve a great score.”
On the red carpet before the ceremony, Ram Charan expressed his delight that an Indian film was being ‘appreciated’ in Hollywood, which he called the ‘Mecca of Movies’.
He shared: ‘I would love to work with one of the best directors here. I want them to experience us, and the world is coming together.’
Head to Head: Naatu Naatu sees the two main characters, played by Ram Charan and Jr. NTR, team up for a dance against an English rival.
Award Winning: Naatu Naatu features lyrics by Chandrabose and music by MM Keeravani, both staples of Telugu cinema, and took 19 months to write
Setting: When a Brit mocks ‘these brown bastards’ for not knowing Western ‘art’ and ‘finesse’, the two leads show him dazzling all the women in the crowd with the ‘naatu’.
Rahul Spiligunj, who sang the song along with Kaala Bhairava, told the Trusted Press of India he was commemorating the victory by serving all his guests Hyderabadi biryani, a popular dish from the Telugu-speaking Indian state of Telangana.
RRR director Rajamouli, who has cited Hollywood movies like Braveheart and Kung Fu Panda as his influences, has become a reliable hitmaker in India.
He has become particularly famous in his home country as a pioneering force in ‘crossover’ or ‘pan-Indian’ cinema – that is, films that break through India’s various regional and language barriers to become national hits.
His latest film had added cross-cultural appeal in India as it mainly featured Telugu actors, but also featured supporting performances from Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn, two major Hindi-speaking Bollywood stars.
Place to be: Naatu Naatu is located in the Delhi Gymkhana Club, an ultra-members-only private establishment started by the British in 1913 that remains to this day.
Sign of the Times: However, Jr. NTR revealed at a press conference that its director was unable to film the sequence in Delhi due to the current COVID-19 restrictions.
Details: Naatu Naatu was eventually shot at the Mariinskyi Palace, an 18th-century Romanov building that is now the official residence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
When RRR came to Netflix last year, Rajamouli crossed another boundary when his film became a social media sensation in the West.
Many Indians have taken enormous pride in the attention the film has garnered in America, to the point that there was outrage on social media in India when RRR was not selected as the country’s Oscar submission.
Naatu Naatu sees the two main characters, played by Ram Charan and Jr. NTR, team up for a dance against an English rival.
When a Brit mocks ‘these brown bugs’ for not knowing Western ‘art’ and ‘delicacy’, the two leads show him dazzling all the women in the crowd with the ‘naatu’, choreographed by Prem Rakshit.
Keeravani’s win: The composer, a cousin of the RRR director, took the stage alone to receive the award and praised his collaborators.
The crew: Keeravani appears at Billboard’s Golden Globes after-party with movie star Jr. NTR (center) and its director SS Rajamouli
The number had a long and winding road to completion – the lyricist has informed the Indian media outlet. NDTV that the writing process lasted 19 months.
“It took me two months to choreograph it,” Prem Rakshit revealed to India today. “We shot for 20 days and did 43 repetitions.”
Naatu Naatu takes place at the Delhi Gymkhana Club, an ultra-members-only private establishment started by the British in 1913 and continues to this day.
Names in bold: Prominent Indians like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, movie stars Priyanka Chopra and Amitabh Bachchan and critic Anupama Chopra have celebrated RRR’s victory.
However, Jr. NTR revealed in a Press conference that its director was unable to film the sequence in Delhi due to the COVID-19 restrictions of the time.
“You know, because of the pandemic, we couldn’t film here in India, so he took us all the way to kyiv in the Ukraine and tortured us there,” Jr. NTR joked.
Naatu Naatu was eventually shot at the Mariinskyi Palace, an 18th-century Romanov building that is now the official residence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.