“Naatu Naatu” from “RRR” makes Oscar history with best song win

(CNN) India made film history by winning its first Oscar for Best Original Song “Naatu Naatu”.

The song, which has been praised for its lively choreography and catchy tune and has already won a Golden Globe Award, comes from the film ‘RRR’, a Telugu drama set during India’s struggle for independence from Britain.

At the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday night, “Naatu Naatu” — composed by MM Keeravani and with lyrics by Chandrabose — beat both Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick and Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up.” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Keeravani accepted the award and said, “I grew up watching The Carpenters and now I’m here at the Oscars,” before singing his speech to The Carpenters’ “Top of the World.” Chandrabose simply added, “Namaste.”

Earlier in the evening, singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava performed “Naatu Naatu” while dancers reenacted a famously energetic scene from the film that has inspired countless memes.

Bollywood star Deepika Padukone, who introduced the performance, called the song “a total banger”.

The film’s star responded to the win on Twitter Ram Charan wrote: “We won!! We won as Indian cinema!! We won as a country!! The Oscar is coming home!”

In a lengthy statement released to the platform, Charan described the film as a “masterpiece” and the song as “a feeling around the world.”

An Indian composer had previously won the Oscar for Best Original Song with “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” but that film was a predominantly British production.

In contrast, “RRR” is a quintessentially Indian production – and a showcase for Tollywood, one of India’s non-Bollywood film industries that focuses primarily on Telegu language productions rather than Hindi films.

After the victory, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi tweeted, “The popularity of ‘Naatu Naatu’ is worldwide. It will be a song to remember for years to come.”

“India is excited and proud,” Modi added.

The team behind the film accepted Twitter celebrate.

“No words can describe this surreal moment. We dedicate this to all our amazing fans around the world. Thanks!! Jai Hind,” they wrote, using a popular battle cry meaning “Victory to India.”

The Indian film industry produces tens of thousands of films in multiple languages ​​each year, and “RRR”, which stands for Rise, Roar, Revolt, is the fourth highest-grossing film in the country according to IMDB, earning nearly US$155 million worldwide.

The three-hour historical fantasy film features wild action sequences, explosions, epic battles, complex dance numbers and a man wrestling a tiger.

A clip from the film, featuring Telugu superstars Charan and NT Rama Rao Jr. known as Jr NTR, dancing in perfect sync to the lyrics, has more than 125 million views on YouTube.