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Naatu Naatu, the song from the Indian film RRR, won the Best Song award at the 2023 Oscars, surpassing its competitors such as Hold My Hand, Lift Me Up, and others. It became the first Indian as well as Asian film to win the award.
The award was accepted by composer M.M. Keeravani and lyricist Chandrabose, with the former delighting the audience by giving his acceptance speech to the tune of a song by the band The Carpenters.
The event, however, stirred up minor controversy online. While fans of the other songs claimed they deserved the Oscar and not RRR, fans of the Indian song challenged the western listeners not to look down upon the song with bias.
Naatu Naatu's Oscar win leaves netizens divided
The Best Original Song category had heavyweight nominations. This was Lady Gaga’s fourth Oscar nomination, and she previously won for co-writing Shallow (A Star Is Born). This is Rihanna’s first nomination. Diane Warren, who was nominated for Applause (Tell It Like a Woman), received her 14th Oscar nomination this year. David Byrne, Sox Lux founder Ryan Lott, and Mitski were also nominees in the best original song category for the track This Is A Life from Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Naatu Naatu, however, held its own in front of stalwarts such as them. The song created history earlier this year by winning the Golden Globe.
The song's Oscar win invited criticism from several people, especially from fans of the other songs and artists.
In response, other netizens defended the song, calling out the negative comments for their pettiness and bias. One netizen pointed out that the Oscars were not just about Hollywood.
Others remarked that the voting process was fair and transparent.
One tweet remarked over the reactions that have drawn the attention of fans of singer Taylor Swift.
Fans of the song were also ecstatic after it won the Best Original Song at the 95th Academy Awards, with many taking to social media to celebrate.
Indian businessman and entrepreneur Anand Mahindra tweeted that Naatu Naatu won because it's a mini-movie in itself.
Former Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu, also congratulated the winners.
More about RRR and Naatu Naatu
RRR is a 2022 Indian film from the South Indian film industry, directed by S. S. Rajamouli. It is the most expensive film ever made in India, with a budget of $72 million, and is the third highest grossing Indian film on the global market, with revenue of over $150 million generated so far.
RRR received critical acclaim upon its release on both the domestic and foreign stages, particularly for its direction as well as music. Aside from its Oscar win, RRR also won the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Song awards at the 28th Critics' Choice Awards.
The song Naatu Naatu, composed by M. M. Keeravani with lyrics by Chandrabose and recorded by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, is a song about nativity, rustic country life, and friendship and has been praised for its uplifting combination of melody and dance.
More about the composer of Naatu Naatu
Koduri Marakathamani Keeravani was born in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. He began his music career as an assistant music director for Kommineni Appa Rao, a veteran of the South Indian film industry, better known by his stage name K. Chakravarthy.
The composer had his initial successes with the 1990 film Manasu Mamatha and the work he did for Ram Gopal Varma's blockbuster film Kshana Kshanam in 1991. This was followed by several other films, among which was the 1997 Telugu film Annamayya, for which he won a National Award. The composer has also won a Saturn Award for Bahubali, with his win for Naatu Naatu being his second global award.
