2 Wins For India At The Oscars

Bhubaneswar: India held its own at the 95th Academy Awards as Naatu Naatu from SS Rajamouli’s RRR won the Oscar in the Best Original Song category and Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga’s Netflix documentary short, The Elephant Whisperers emerged as the winner in the Best Documentary Shorts category.

Naatu Naatu is the first song from any Indian film to win in the Best Song category. The foot-tapping fun number competed with Applause (Tell It Like a Woman), Hold My Hand (Top Gun Maverick), Lift Me Up (Black Pather Wakanda Forever), and This is a Life (Everything Everywhere All at Once).

Music director MM Keeravaani accepted the award with a Namaste.

Naatu Naatu was also performed live at the ceremony, with an introduction by Deepika Padukone amid cheers from the people. Singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava performed the song. Team RRR, including director SS Rajamouli and actors Ram Charan and Jr NTR, attended.

“Exceptional! The popularity of ‘Naatu Naatu’ is global. It will be a song that will be remembered for years to come. Congratulations to @mmkeeravaani @boselyricist and the entire team for this prestigious honour. India is elated and proud. #Oscars,” wrote Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Congratulate the composer, lyricist, music director & entire team of #RRRMovie on being awarded Best Original Song for #NaatuNaatu at #OSCAR -first song from an Indian film to win #AcademyAwards. Indeed a proud moment and it will inspire generations of Indian film makers,” tweeted Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik.

Naveen also congratulated the crew members of The Elephant Whisperers on winning the prestigious Academy Award in the Best Documentary Short Subject category at the 95th Academy Awards. It is also the first Indian film to win an Oscar in this category. 

The third nominee from India, Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes, which had won all the top prizes at various international film festivals, including Cannes Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival, lost to Navalny in the Best Documentary Feature Film segment.

The 95th Academy Awards, however, belonged to Everything Everywhere All at Once, which won five Oscars out of the 11 it was nominated for, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Actress in a Supporting Role, among other, categories.