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Naatu Naatu has millions of views on YouTube and is a viral sensation on social media
All eyes in India will be on the Oscars as Naatu Naatu competes to win Best Original Song at the prestigious awards show.
Naatu Naatu, a track from the Telugu blockbuster RRR, short for Rise Roar Revolt, is the first Indian film song to be nominated for an Oscar.
His singers are also set to perform at the Academy Awards, which will be broadcast in India on Monday morning.
The song became a global sensation following the film’s release in the US last year, where its fast pacing and synchronized choreography was an instant hit with audiences – inspiring endless Instagram reels and dance trends on social media.
Composed by MM Keeravani with lyrics penned by Chandrabose, Naatu Naatu made history back in January when it won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song, beating out the likes of Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. The same month, the song also won the Critics Choice Award for Best Song.
Its composers are now hoping to repeat their success at the Oscars.
“It’s not just about the music or the dance — the entire story of RRR can be summed up in those 10 minutes of naatu naatu,” the film’s director, SS Rajamouli, told Vanity Fair.
RRR is a historical fantasy film starring superstars Ram Charan and Jr. NTR and tells the fictional story of two revolutionaries fighting British rule in India.
Rajamouli says he envisioned Naatu Naatu as a “fight scene” in which two freedom fighters bring a British officer to his knees – through dance.
“The song is a story within the larger story of the film,” said the filmmaker.
Image source, Getty Images
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Naatu Naatu made history back in January when it won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song
In 2020, when RRR was still in production, Rajamouli Keeravani only said that he needed a song that would showcase his heroes’ dancing talent.
Keeravani then turned to his favorite lyricist, Chandrabose, saying, “Write whatever you want. But this story is set in the 1920s, so use words appropriate to the period.”
Since there was no melody or melody to work with, Chandrabose first developed the hook line of “Naatu Naatu,” which means “dance, dance” in Telugu.
He told BBC Telugu that he wrote an up-tempo, fast-beat song that he knew Keeravani preferred. The beat is commonly used in folk songs of the two Telugu-speaking states of India – Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Chandrabose drew inspiration from his childhood in Telangana and incorporated several folk references into the song — like eating chili with jowar roti (red sorghum bread).
The majority of the song was completed in two days, Chandrabose said. But it took 19 months for the rest to come together.
Rajamouli and Keeravani credit much of Naatu Naatu’s success to the song’s choreographer Prem Rakshit, who composed about 95 dance steps for the track.
“All of them [the actors] have their own style,” said Rajamouli in a previous interview. “So he had to find something that would fit both of them.”
Rakshit said he did 30 versions of the signature move that sees NTR Jr. and Ram Charan dance with their arms around each other. The adorable sequence had to be improvised further after Charan asked the director “if they could do something with the costume”.
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The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars
The song culminates in a marathon dance with all the dancers starting a storm and slowly collapsing from exhaustion one by one until only the heroes remain standing.
Ram Charan and NTR Jr then turn to compete and a dance contest between the two heroes ensues. Rajamouli said he tried to capture the film’s themes – friendship, rivalry and solidarity – through the sequence.
Since the film’s release last year, fans have tried to mimic the intricate foot twists and catchy dance moves. At film screenings in Los Angeles, audiences were often seen rushing onto the stage to dance when the song played.
Although the track was filmed in front of the Mariinskyi Palace, a beautiful sea-blue building in Ukraine, Rajamouli said his goal was to recreate the atmosphere of an Indian village. In past interviews, the director has admitted that people called him “crazy” for filming in a country on the brink of war.
The team shot the song over 15 days, working 12 hours a day with 150 dancers and a crew of 200 people.
Rakshit said that every time he approved a recording, Rajamouli asked for “one more” recording.
“He went frame by frame to make sure we were in sync,” Charan said in an interview.
Almost a year after its release, the song is still resonating with audiences. And with an Oscar nomination and an awards show appearance in tow, excitement is at an all-time high.
As Charan said, “The song isn’t our song anymore. It belongs to the public. People of different ages and cultures have embraced it.”
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