The Oscars highlighted best original song nominee “Naatu Naatu” with a musical performance, recreating its featured scene from the Telugu-language drama “RRR”.
Bollywood star Deepika Padukone, who introduced the performance, called the song “a total banger.”
It is the first song from an Indian production to ever be nominated for an Oscar. Praised for its buoyant choreography and catchy tune, the song won India’s first ever Golden Globe in the best original song category last month.
The original song features Telugu superstars Ram Charan and N. T. Rama Rao Jr., known as Jr NTR, who dance in perfect synchronization to the lyrics. The video has more than 122 million views on YouTube.
The Indian film industry produces tens of thousands of movies every year in multiple languages, and “RRR,” which stands for Rise Roar Revolt, is the country’s fourth-highest grossing picture, according to IMDb, earning nearly $155 million worldwide. It became Netflix’s most-watched non-English movie last June.
“Naatu Naatu” is the first song from an Indian film to be nominated for an Oscar.
