‘RRR’ Song And Two Documentaries From India

The nominations for the 95th Academy Awards were announced early Tuesday and three Indian films bagged nominations in various categories. SS Rajamouli’s RRR bagged one nomination for the song Naatu Naatu.Two documentaries from the country also found their way to the nominations. Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes and Kartiki Gonsalves’ The Elephant Whisperers have also been nominated in the Best Documentary Feature and Best Documentary Short categories respectively.

MM Keeravaani has composed the lyrics for the song Naatu Naatu that is written Chandrabose. Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava have sung the song choreographed by Prem Rakshith. As soon as the nominations were announced, Indian film buffs and artists were all elated. The official handle of RRR on Twitter also shared happiness of the team. Actors Jr NTR and congratulated musician MM Keeravaani and lyricist Chandrabose for the nod.

Keeravani’s Naatu Naatu is also the first song from an Indian film to be nominated in the category at the Oscars. In 2009, ARAR
Rahman’s Jai Ho won the award at the Oscars, but it featured in the British production Slumdog Millionnaire, directed by Danny Boyle. Tell It Like A Woman, Top Gun: Maverick, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Everything Everywhere All At Once are also in the run for the award this year.

Variance Films, the film distributors behind the massive promotional campaign for Rajamouli’s latest film, have been championing RRR despite the fact that India sent The Last Show, not RRR, as their official entry for the Best International Film category.

A day ahead of the nominations, Variance Films announced that RRR will release in theaters once again in February. “Whether it gets all the nominations or none of them tomorrow, we’re bringing RRR back out nationwide to theaters this February. No shade to NetflixNFLX
but while it’s great anytime, it’s what movie theaters were built for, so back to the theaters we go.”

Released in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and English languages in March 2022, RRR has since broken various box office records and grossed more than $120 million. The film traces the friendship (a work of fiction) between two Indian freedom fighters (real life figures Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem and their diverse ways to fight against the British during their colonial rule.

Sen’s All That Breathes is set in the national capital of India – New Delhi, which is also one of the top most polluted cities across globe. The film traces the lives of two brothers who rescue birds despite limited means. It was screened at select theatres in Los Angeles and New York, and is also available on HBO.

Gonsalves’ The Elephant Whisperers is about an Indian family that adopts an orphaned baby elephant and makes it their own. It is available on Netflix.

Everything Everywhere All At Once was the most nominated film, with 11 nods, followed by All Quiet On The Western Front and The Banshees of Inisherin, with nine each. The event was hosted by actors Allison Williams and Riz Ahmed.