RRR closer to Oscar glory: ‘Naatu Naatu’ nominated for Best Original Song at 95th Academy Awards

The 95th Academy Awards will be presented in the evening on 12 March local time. That corresponds to early morning the next day in India.

Naatu Naatu has been nominated alongside Lady Gaga’s Hold My Hand song from Top Gun: Maverick, Applause from Tell It Like A Woman, Rihanna’s Lift Me Up, and This s a Life from Everything Everywhere All At Once.

This year's Original Song nominees are music to our ears. #Oscars #Oscars95 pic.twitter.com/peKQmFD9Uh

— The Academy (@TheAcademy) January 24, 2023

Though RRR failed to secure a nomination in the Best International Feature Film category, the selection of Naatu Naatu in the Best Original Song category gave a reason to cheer Indian movie lovers.

It reminded them of AR Rahman winning two Oscars for original song and original score for Slumdog Millionaire at the 81st Academy Awards in 2009.

Though RRR was not the official entry from India, it created an unprecedented buzz in the run-up to the Oscar nominations owing to a spirited and well-planned campaign by its producers.

This period drama, featuring popular stars NTR Jr, Ram Charan, and Alia Bhatt garnered so much popularity that it even won appreciation from stalwarts like Steven Spielberg and James Cameron.

WE CREATED HISTORY!! 🇮🇳

Proud and privileged to share that #NaatuNaatu has been nominated for Best Original Song at the 95th Academy Awards. #Oscars #RRRMovie pic.twitter.com/qzWBiotjSe

— RRR Movie (@RRRMovie) January 24, 2023

Along with RRR, documentary films All That Breathes and The Elephant Whisperers, and others also competed for Oscar glory, but the spotlight was on RRR owing to its stupendous box office success in India and overseas.

What made RRR a strong contender for Oscar nominations was the critical acclaim it received in the US.

It also created history when Naatu Naatu won the Golden Globes in the Best Original Song category.

Hours before the Oscars nominations were revealed, Bollywood star Ajay Devgn, who had a cameo in RRR, praised Rajamouli for earning global recognition for Indian cinema with the film.

“When films from our industry run successfully, they helps the industry a lot. Rajamouli has taken RRR international. Today, filmmakers like James Cameron are talking about RRR. It’s a big thing. I feel proud. Finally, it is the Indian film industry which is getting recognition,” said Ajay Devgn at the teaser launch of his upcoming film Bholaa in Mumbai.

Lahari Music paid ₹18 crore for RRR music rights

G Thulasiram Lahari Velu, who is a partner at the popular South Indian music label Lahari Music, which owns the music rights of RRR exclusively told South First that he was elated with the film becoming the first Indian movie ever to be nominated for the Academy Awards under the Best Original Song category.

He said, “It’s a historic moment for the Indian film industry. For us, as a company, it is the result of 48 long years of hard work. It was started by Manohar Naidu with just ₹500, and has reached the stage where we were entrusted with the music rights of RRR.”

He added: “The entire film industry laughed at us when we paid ₹3.5 crore for the audio rights of Bahubali: The Beginning and even more for its sequel.”

He explained: “The faith in us by the entire team of RRR made us get the rights for a whopping ₹18 crore.”

He also said: “I am quite sure that Naatu Naatu will create history by winning the Oscars.”