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Naatu Naatu, the energetic and fun song and dance number featured in the Indian action epic RRR, has become an international phenomenon. The song has won the hearts of fans and critics with its fast-paced rhythm and the electric dance sequence that accompanies Naatu Naatu during the film.
Hollywood has taken notice of the film, which received a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2023 Golden Globes and even won Best Original Song for Naatu Naatu. This has raised a lot of curiosity about the award-winning piece of music and what the title means.
What does Naatu Naatu mean?
Naatu Naatu is a Telugu expression that translates to "dance dance" in English. Telugu, which is mainly spoken in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where the movie is centered, was used for RRR's filming. As such, the song is also in Telugu. Director Rajamouli commented on the song, saying:
“For me, Naatu Naatu one of the reasons why I think it is such a hit is not just because of the music, not just because of the dance, because there is a beautiful story in itself. The entire story of RRR is within that 10 minutes of Naatu Naatu lead scene and the complete song. No one in America or across the world really knows the meaning of the lyrics but it is the catchiness of the lyric, the way, the flows. I think the credit should be given to Chandrabose, the lyricist.”
As well as being released in Telugu, RRR has been dubbed into several Indian languages to make it accessible to everyone in the Indian subcontinent, where every corner of the country speaks a distinct and different language. Hence, the song's title and lyrics vary depending on whatever version you listen to. For instance, the song is called Naacho Naacho in the Hindi version of the movie, which is available on Netflix. In Tamil, it is called Naathu Koothu; in Kannada, it is Halli Naatu; and the song is called Karinthol in Malayalam.
Who choreographed the RRR song?
The fast-paced, rhythmic song is accompanied by an equally energetic and fun dance number in the movie. The entire song and dance sequence was filmed in August 2021 outside the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine. The number features actors Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju engaging in an epic dance-off against several Brits.
Prem Rakshith, who has previously collaborated with Rajamouli, lead actors Ram Charan, and Jr. NTR, choreographed the dance moves for the song. Speaking about the steps of the song, director Rajamouli said:
"[Prem] gave one of the most memorable numbers for both of them. He knows their style, exactly what their body language is. He exactly knows what their fans expect out of them. Here he has a very difficult job because here both the actors have to dance together, each of them has their own style but he has to find out a style, which will suit both of them. A dancing style which would be not complicated because I also wanted him to figure out steps which people would like to do themselves."
Naatu Naatu has caused quite a stir, and after bagging the Golden Globes, we are excited to see if the song will also take away the Oscars this year.
Catch The 95th Academy Awards Ceremony this Sunday from 5 PM, live streaming on ABC.
