Feature

India Tunes at the Oscars

By bringing the much-coveted Oscar home, Naatu Naatu broke the decades-old jinx that has followed Indian films at the Academy Awards. Alongside, it has catapulted the country into the league of the Asian cinema that is challenging American and European dominance in the global market

Naatu Naatu from Telugu film RRR has attained a cult status worldwide—going by the frenzy around it, it would not be an exaggeration to say that. Written by Chandrabose and composed by M.M. Keeravani, the song, which has Telugu actors Jr NTR and Ram Charan showing off their dancing skills, pulled off what no previous film song from India, or for that matter, any other country from Asia, has been able to do so far—winning the Oscar, in the “Best Original Song” category. Within 24 hours of the announcement at the 95th Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on March 13, the song garnered eight million views on official YouTube channels, according to a Times of India report, which cited data from Lahari Recording Company, owner of the film’s world music rights.