Indian musical cinema in the Tegulu language (Tollywood) makes its debut in Hollywood in a big way, not only displacing more conventional proposals but also displacing Indian Bollywood-language cinema.
All this thanks to Naatu Naatu, a well-rounded song that met all the requirements to achieve what he was aiming for: a simple melody, a massively chantable chorus, a sonorous dress of electronic pop with echoes of Indian tradition, an infallible video clip , a shot of contagious energy starring actors Ram Charan and NT Rama Rao Jr.
In short, the song composed by M. M. Keeravani and written by Chandrabose symbolizes the indisputable exuberance of Indian film soundtracks performed in Telugu, the country’s second most spoken language.
The song – which symbolizes in a luminous way the film that welcomes it, RRR – has its surface, its background and its background. In the images of the acclaimed video you can enjoy the song during a dance-challenge against the English invader of the two leading Hindu liberators, dressed in Western attire.
One of the added details that now have sadly current interest is that the dance sequence was shot in August 2021 in front of the Mariyinsky Palace in Kiev, the official residence of the President of Ukraine.
On the other hand, it was the first nomination received by the composer M. M. Keeravani and the singer and lyricist Chandrabose, and whose triumphant outcome they did not expect: “I grew up listening to the Carpenters and now here I am with the Oscars,” Keeravani said at the ceremony.
And finally, the achievement is not less if one takes into account its competitors, of the highest rank with names like Diane Warren, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and David Byrne among its authors/performers.
The song “Applause” earned Warren his 14th nomination for Best Original Song, a number only reached by seven other composers in Oscar history. For its part, the intense ballad Hold my hand was Lady Gaga’s third nomination in this category, after those achieved by Til it happens to you, from The hunting ground, and Shallow, from A star is born (and won four years ago ).
And finally there was the powerful Lift me up with which Rihanna has made her long-awaited return to the forefront of music, without forgetting the collaboration of the glorious David Byrne with the trio Son Lux on the song This is a life (from the multi-award-winning Todo a la once everywhere).
The performances during the ceremony by Lady Gaga and Rihanna were intense and outstanding (especially that of the former), although that of Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava also fully met expectations in situ.
Finally and to finish. This award can also be seen as a commitment to the particular within a homogenizing globality: it is the first composition in a non-English language to win the category since Jai Ho from Slumdog millionaire almost fifteen decades ago.
