The coveted golden statuette was awarded to SS Rajamouli’s RRR for the song ‘Naatu Naatu,’ which featured Ram Charan and Jr NTR. M.M. Keeravani’s upbeat anthem won Best Original Song, beating out ‘This Is A Life’ from ‘Everything, Everywhere, All at Once,’ ‘Applause’ from ‘Tell It Like a Woman,’ and ‘Raise Me Up’ from ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.’
For the first time, India earned three nominations at the prestigious international stage with the popular song ‘Naatu Naatu’ from blockbuster ‘RRR’, and two documentaries ‘All That Breathes’ and ‘The Elephant Whisperers’. Keeravani’s song had bagged a nomination for Best Original Song, while the documentaries ‘All That Breathes’ and ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ is running for the Best Documentary Feature and Best Documentary Short Film categories, respectively.
Singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, who lend their voice to the original track, performed the fast-paced song for the Oscars audience with the music composer MM Keeravani and American dancer Lauren Gottlieb.
Meanwhile, the RRR crew arrived at the Dolby Theatre in grand style on Monday. Before the Oscars 2023 ceremony, director SS Rajamouli, actors Jr NTR and Ram Charan, and singer MM Keeravani walked the red carpet. Ram Charan and Jr NTR wore black bandhgala ethnic velvet ensembles. Rajamouli dressed down in a kurta and dhoti.
Gaurav Gupta, an Indian fashion designer, created Jr NTR’s black velvet custom-made bandhgala with gold metallic embroidery. The fine gold embroidery on the black velvet traditional bandhgala drew comparisons to India’s national animal, the tiger. It’s also a nod to RRR’s iconic interval scene. This symbolic attire is fitting for The Young Tiger, the actor’s popular moniker.