‘RRR’ becomes first Indian film to win Best Original Song at the Oscars

Telugu film RRR has become the first-ever Indian film to win Best Original Song at the Academy Awards.

• READ MORE: The 10 best Asian films of 2022

‘Naatu Naatu’, the song for which RRR was nominated, clinched the Best Original Song on March 13, beating out the likes of Rihanna‘s ‘Lift Me Up’ for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack, Lady Gaga‘s ‘Hold My Hand’ from Top Gun: Maverick, Mitski and David Byrne’s ‘This Is A Life’ from Everything Everywhere All At Once and Diane Warren’s ‘Applause’ from Tell It Like A Woman.

The song’s composer M. M. Keeravani accepted the award, calling the track “the pride of every Indian”. He also paid homage to one of his favourite bands, singing his speech in the tune of The Carpenters’ ‘Top Of The World’. Watch his acceptance speech below.

Not only did ‘Naatu Naatu’ win for Best Original Song, the song was also honoured at the awards show with a special performance featuring one of its playback singers Rahul Sipligunj on vocals.

The performance received a standing ovation from those in attendance. Watch the full performance below.

Here’s the energetic performance of “Naatu Naatu” from #RRR at the #Oscars. https://t.co/ndiKiHeOT5 pic.twitter.com/Lf2nP826c4

— Variety (@Variety) March 13, 2023

RRR was named NME‘s top Asian film of 2022 in December. NME‘s Hidzir Junaini wrote of the film: “Featuring some of the most breathtaking action, dazzling musical numbers and supercharged emotion that you’ll ever see in cinema, RRR is a rip-roaring crowd-pleaser that makes its three-plus hour runtime feel like 30 minutes.”

“This fictionalised account of the bromance between legendary Indian freedom fighters, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem who fought against the British Raj, is an exuberant spectacle unlike any other. RRR will wow you with its gargantuan scope, the escalating insanity of its bombastic sequences, and its adrenaline-fueled anti-imperial heart.”

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