India at Oscars 2023: RRR's Naatu Naatu, The Elephant Whisperers win Academy Awards
Los Angeles: In a proud moment for India at the Oscars 2023, the massively popular Naatu Naatu song from Telugu language film RRR and Tamil short documentary film The Elephant Whisperers won the 95th Academy Awards in two different categories here on Sunday.
The Elephant Whisperers was the first honour for India on Sunday evening as it won in the Best Documentary Short Subject category.
Directed by Kartiki Gonsalves, The Elephant Whisperers, an Indian-American short Tamil documentary film, explores a bond between a couple and an orphaned baby elephant who was entrusted to their care.
And here comes the Oscar!! Many congratulations to team of #TheElephantWhispers for bringing home the honor. pic.twitter.com/YjEfxixSEh
— KhushbuSundar (@khushsundar) March 13, 2023
Later, Naatu Naatu surpassed other nominations to win in the Best Original Song category.
The Oscars was awarded to composer MM Keeravaani and lyricist Chandrabose.
Actors Ram Charan and Jr NTR featured in the viral song which has been making a strong presence felt across several international award ceremonies in recent months.
Global glory for RRR🇮🇳
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) March 13, 2023
And the Oscar goes to… #NaatuNaatu 👏🙌 pic.twitter.com/zO17HpjtEO
The Indian song's journey to winning the title was not easy as it defeated heavyweight competitors like Lady Gaga's Hold My Hand from Top Gun: Maverick, Rihanna'sLift Me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, This Is A Life from Everything Everywhere All At Once, and Applause from Tell It Like A Woman to win the award.
The song had earlier made an impressive run when it clinched the Golden Globe for Best Original Song in January.
The song was also performed live during the Oscars event on Sunday night.
The Telugu action drama stars NTR Jr, Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn and Shriya Saran in the lead.