Rahman elated over Oscar nomination for Nattu Nattu, expresses support

Mumbai (Maharashtra), 26th Jan 2023: SS Rajamouli’s film ‘RRR’ has made history yet again, with the film’s song ‘Naatu Naatu’ being nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars 2023.

The song, written by Kaal Bhairav and Rahul Sipligunj and composed by MM Keeravani, features the film’s lead actors Ram Charan and Jr NTR.

As well as congratulating Team RRR, two-time Academy Award winner composer AR Rahman reacted to Natu Natu’s Oscar nomination.

The celebrated music composer told the media at an event in Mumbai that Indian films should have been recognised at international awards a decade ago.

“I thought it (India’s nomination) would start ten years ago. “It’s been 12 years,” he told reporters. “It should happen every year from India because we are a country of 1.3 billion people and there is amazing talent in every aspect of filmmaking. The majority of films do not compete.”

“At least they (the makers of RRR) had the guts to put it out there,” Rahman said. Who will vote for your film if no one has heard of it? I wish them all the best and hope they live.”

Natu Natu from RRR will compete with ‘Applause’ from ‘Tell It Like a Woman,’ ‘Hold My Hand’ from ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ and ‘Lift Me Up’ from ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ at the Academy Awards in 2023. and ‘This Is a Life’ from “Everything Everywhere All at Once”.

This is the third major international award for “Naatu Naatu,” composed by MM Keeravani and written by Kaal Bhairav and Rahul Sipligunj, following Keeravani’s Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Award earlier this month. Another Critics’ Choice Award was given to the film for Best Foreign Language Film.

“RRR,” a pre-independence fictional story, follows two real-life Indian revolutionaries in the 1920s, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Junior NTR). Meanwhile, “Jai Ho,” from Danny Boyle’s 2008 British film “Slumdog Millionaire,” was the first Hindi song to win Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Original Song. AR Rahman composed it, and Gulzar wrote the lyrics.