Music composer and singer AR Rahman wants RRR song Naatu Naatu from SS Rajamouli's film to win Oscars 2023. The song has been nominated in the Best Original song category and will be running against singers such as Lady Gaga and Rihanna.
Talking to the news agency ANI, AR Rahman said, “I want Naatu-Naatu to win awards, I want them to win the Grammy also because any award for any of us will lift India up and the concentration of our culture will become higher.”
AR Rahman is a two-time Oscar winner--Best Original Score and Best Original Song (alongside lyricist Gulzar) for the 2009 film Slumdog Millionaire. He is also a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Earlier this year in January, he said during a song launch event in Mumbai, “I thought it (India getting a nomination) would start ten years back. It’s 12 years late. This should happen every year from India because we are a country of 1.3 billion people and there are amazing geniuses in every aspect of filmmaking. Most of the movies don’t enter the competition. At least they (makers of RRR) had the thing to put it out there. If nobody knows your movie, who is going to vote for it? I wish them the very best and I want them to win.”
Naatu Naatu song stars Ram Charan and Jr NTR and will be performed by Lauren Gottlieb, who was a runner-up in Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa season 6, at Oscars 2023. The award ceremony is taking place on March 12 (March 13 in India).
The film has already fetched several international titles, including the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards this year in the best song category. It is the first Indian film in over two decades to be nominated for the Academy Awards. Naatu Naatu has been composed by MM Keeravani.