Oscars 2023: This actually happened!
Standing ovation plus Oscar for Naatu Naatu. Gong for Guneet’s short. Two wins for Indian productions. First in Academy history!
Priyanka Sharma (MID-DAY; March 14, 2023)

Monday morning would have commenced unusually for film aficionados in India. Abreast with the knowledge that three Indian films were competing for top titles at the world’s biggest film awards night, movie buffs would have kicked off their day groggily browsing through their phones to learn if we indeed did clinch an Oscar. The country won not one, but two titles, making this event a historic one for Indian cinema.

At the 95th Academy Awards, S S Rajamouli’s RRR took home the Best Original Song title for MM Keeravaani’s composition, Naatu Naatu. The dance number that became an anthem of sorts in India, acquired international acclaim after RRR began to pick up titles across international galas, this year.

Guneet Monga and Kartiki Gonsalves’s The Elephant Whisperers earned the country its second Academy Award this year, making this the first Indian production to win an Oscar.

RRR presenter Jayantilal Gada tells mid-day, “The Oscars is always the dream and the ultimate goal [for filmmakers]. We are humbled and grateful to Rajamouli ji for partnering with us. The film has made India so proud. I congratulate the entire team.”

Gonsalves and Monga dedicated their win in the Best Documentary Short category to India. The Netflix offering about the unbreakable bond between an abandoned elephant and its caretakers earned Monga her second Oscar after Period. End of Sentence. The 2019 film also earned her a title in the same category.

“I stand here to speak of our connection with the natural world, for the respect of indigenous communities, and empathy towards other living beings we share a space with,” Gonsalves said, dedicating the win to her “motherland, India”.

Monga, who graced the stage in a pink Banarasi saree, said in a statement, “This is an incredibly powerful and historical moment. We, as two women from India, stood on that global stage making this historic win. An independent production house from India has made history to be the first ever Indian film by an Indian production to win an Oscar. My heart is racing with all the joy, love, and excitement in the moment. Today I can say, the future for Indian cinema is audacious, the future is here and not to forget, the future is truly female.”

Naatu Naatu act emerges to be Oscar highlight
The first song from an Indian film to win in the Best Original Song category, Naatu Naatu was pitted against the works of heavyweights like Lady Gaga, and Rihanna, both of whom performed their nominated songs, Hold My Hand, and Lift Me Up, at the gala. The energetic performance to Naatu Naatu, which saw singers Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj sing live on stage, emerged to be the talking point of the night after it brought the audience to its feet.  

M M Keeravaani sings 
Team RRR was also lauded for celebrating Indian culture with their ensembles at the big night. While Rajamouli took to the stage in a traditional dhoti and mauve silk kurta, leading men Ram Charan and Jr NTR wore attires with statement embroidery that was reminiscent of their characters. In an acceptance speech that was as joyful as it was heart-touching, Keeravaani, who had grown up consuming the music of American duo, The Carpenters, serenaded the audience with his take on their song, Top of the world. “RRR has to win, pride of every Indian, and must put me on the top of the world (sic),” the man of the moment sang. 

The big winner of the night was an American film about a Chinese immigrant. It appeared that every second win was awarded to Everything Everywhere All At Once, which took home seven of the eleven trophies it was nominated for. The biggest titles of the night, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Lead Actress,  Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Editing, were awarded to the Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert directorial venture. It became the most-awarded film since 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire, which earned eight titles in 2009. 

In his celebrated comeback of sorts to Hollywood, Brendan Fraser won the top nod in the acting category for The Whale, which sees him as a morbidly obese teacher who tries to restore his relationship with his teenage daughter. “I started in this business 30 years ago and things didn’t come easily to me. I want to say thank you,” he said.
------------------------------------------------
Sushil Rao (THE TIMES OF INDIA; March 14, 2023)

The signs appeared much before Naatu Naatu won the Oscar for Best Original Song on Monday. The first reference came roughly 14 minutes into the ceremony when third-time host Jimmy Kimmel issued a friendly warning to all winners in his opening monologue: “We want your speeches to be moving, but we also want to keep it moving. So if the speech goes on for too long, this time we are not going to play you off-stage, instead we have a group of performers from the movie RRR who are going to dance you off-stage…”

Then, as he continued announcing the names of the first set of presenters, a team of Naatu Naatu dancers danced Kimmel off the stage. The act was met with thunderous applause, as was the performance of the song later in the evening. Actor Deepika Padukone introduced Naatu Naatu to the audience from the stage, describing it as a “global sensation” and a “banger”. The audience cheered and shrieked when she teased: “Do you know Naatu? Because if you don’t, you are about to. . .”

The song’s original singers, Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, brought Naatu Naatu to life along with a troupe of over 20 Hollywood dancers, including American performer and artist Lauren Gottlieb. As in the film, the dance was performed against the backdrop of Kyiv’s Mariinsky Palace – the official residence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Raw And Earthy Number
Many months before RRR’s Oscars triumph, director S S Rajamouli had a clear brief for lyricist Kanukuntla Subhash Chandrabose: “It has to be a raw and earthy song”.

Chandrabose, an electrical and electronics engineering graduate from JNTU, Hyderabad, grew up in Challagarige village in Telangana’s Jayashankar Bhupalpally (earlier Warangal) district, and knew exactly what raw and earthy meant. He hit upon the idea of using the word naatu – which means rustic in Telugu – in the song, and the rest is history.

The 52-year-old has written more than 3,500 songs in his 28-year-old career, but Naatu Naatu crystallized slowly in a 19-month collaboration with music director Koduru Marakathamani Keeravani, a perfectionist. A film director told TOI Keeravani does not stop working on a song until he’s fully satisfied. “He makes no compromises. He also does not give in to suggestions when he is absolutely sure about the music that he creates.”

The effort paid off when Chandrabose clasped the Oscar in his hand, sharing the stage and honours with Keeravani, who is better known as MM Kreem in Bollywood, and Maragathamani in Tamil film circles.
Wife’s Prophecy Fulfilled

Before the big win, Chandrabose was tense. His daughter Amrutha had called him before the ceremony. “He said he was tense and that he was switching off the phone as he did not want to speak to anyone,” she told TOI. But ultimately his wife Suchitra’s prophecy came true. At the start of the year, she had written him a letter. “I wrote in it that he would win the Oscar. I also signed the letter,” Suchitra said.

“I saw him continuously work on the song for 19 months. His hard work has paid off,” Amrutha added. The family will dedicate the Oscar to Chandrabose’s father and his late mother.

Jr NTR, SS Rajamouli and Ram Charan pay homage to India with their attires
Jr NTR, SS Rajamouli and Ram Charan pay homage to India with their attires

Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga
Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga