India enthuses more than Oscars for ‘Naatu Naatu,’ elephant doc
HYDERABAD, India — India celebrated its two historic Academy Awards with enthusiasm befitting the higher-electricity finest original music “Naatu Naatu.”
The dance anthem from the blockbuster Telugu-language action epic “RRR” is the first from an Indian film to make a nomination and gain and has dazzled audiences almost everywhere with its energetic tempo and choreography.
“The Elephant Whisperers” was named finest short documentary at Sunday’s night’s ceremony in a initially for an Indian manufacturing. The documentary, which is streaming on Netflix, follows the tale of a couple in southern India who devote themselves to caring for an orphaned elephant and explores the bond among individuals and animals.
“Congratulations India” trended on Twitter right after “Naatu Naatu” by M.M. Keeravani and Chandrabose trumped the likes of Rihanna and Girl Gaga to win best first tune.
In the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, where by the predominant language is Telugu, fans were elated around the Telugu song’s world triumph. “It’s an extraordinary experience. Lastly, a Telugu movie did it and we have won an Oscar,” rejoiced Venkata Ramanna, a computer software engineer, who described the acquire as “exhilarating.”
From Indian superstars and politicians to cricketers and common citizens, social media in India was awash with congratulations.
“#NaatuNaatu on top of the environment!!!” cheered Chiranjeevi, a outstanding Telugu film actor and previous politician, on Twitter.
“Exceptional! The attractiveness of ‘Naatu Naatu’ is world,” tweeted Key Minister Narendra Modi.
He also congratulated the female duo behind “The Elephant Whisperers,” director Kartiki Gonsalves and producer Guneet Monga, for highlighting the “importance of sustainable advancement and residing in harmony with character.”
Monga tweeted that the award was “historic” for India and for women: “To all the females watching….The potential is audacious and the potential is right here,” she wrote.
Licypriya Kangujam, a young local weather activist in India, called the documentary gain a proud minute for every single environmentalist.
But the hashtags Naatu Naatu and RRR dominated social media feeds Monday.
The a few-hour maximalist motion epic is one of India’s most expensive and major-grossing films of all time and pairs two of the country’s major stars: N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan.
It also quickly climbed U.S. box-workplace charts ahead of it located an even wider viewers on Netflix, where by it ranked amid the best 10 non-English language films for weeks. The massively common tune also received a Golden World award in January.
“Naatu Naatu is an emotion throughout the globe,” Charan posted on Twitter as he congratulated the “RRR” group. “This award belongs to every single Indian actor, technician and filmgoer,” he wrote.
The music was shot in August 2021 in entrance of Ukraine’s Mariinskyi Palace, the formal home of the president in Kyiv, months ahead of Russia invaded the place. The crew took 15 days to shoot the music video clip, which featured about 50 dancers and up to 400 extras.
In an job interview with Wide range in January, director S.S. Rajamouli stated he wished to investigate the movie’s anti-colonial themes in the track by means of an action sequence that saw the film’s two most important Indian actors out-dance the British. He stated he required choreography “that would glance excellent with two folks undertaking it collectively, but not so complex that no-one could do it.”
The rapidly-paced dance actions quickly went viral, sparking a TikTok problem the place buyers attempted to recreate the acrobatic moves. The catchy tempo turned an world wide web sensation, obtaining racked up a lot more than 122 million views on YouTube.
Backstage at the awards ceremony, Keeravani was psychological about the get. “It’s just the starting of every little thing,” he reported. “For the planet, especially the Western world, individuals are extra on India and Asian music. It is just long because of. I really feel pretty pleased to open doorways and the world to embrace my tradition.”
___
See additional AP Academy Awards coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards