Scripting history for South Asian entertainment, mega-blockbuster RRR was awarded the prestigious Best Original Song for Naatu Naatu at the Golden Globes 2023. The song, created by composer-songwriter M.M. Keeravani, became a sensation across India and beyond as it showcased the movie’s widely popular Telugu stars, Jr NTR and Ram Charan, feet-tapping to the song’s groovy music in the period action drama created by S.S. Rajamouli. The stars feature as freedom fighters in a period drama set in British-occupied India in the 1920s. This historic win marks the second time a song crafted in India has won at the Golden Globe.
RRR’s iconic win today marks a new era for South Asian entertainment as it adds yet another feather in the cap for South Asian content. In 2022 alone, film amassed 1000 Million streaming minutes in the first 10 days of the launch, trending #1 in all 4 languages on ZEE5 Global. It became a humongous hit not only in India but all across the globe.
RRR’s win denotes a significant rise in consumption of South Indian language content in recent months across platforms and especially on ZEE5, led by Telugu and Tamil content on the back of blockbuster hits like Karthikeya-2, Valimai and others.
While accepting the award on stage, composer MM Keeravani said, “Thank you very much HFPA for this prestigious award. I am very much overwhelmed by this great moment. I am excited to share this with my wife, who is sitting right there. It’s been an age-old practice to say that this award actually belongs to someone else. I was planning not to say those words when I got an award like this. But sorry to say, I am going to repeat the tradition because I mean my words. This award belongs to – in order of priority my brother and director of the movie SS Rajamouli, for his vision. I thank him for his constant trust in my work and support.”
Ram Charan sharing a post-win picture, proudly wrote, “& WE WON THE GOLDEN GLOBES.” Similarly, sharing a picture of MM Keeravani accepting the award, Jr NTR penned on Instagram, “Congratulations Sirji on your well-deserved #GoldenGlobes award! I’ve danced to many songs throughout my career but #NaatuNaatu will forever stay close to my heart…”
Actress Alia Bhatt, who played a cameo role in the film also reacted to the big win on social media. Oscar-winning composer, AR Rahman, called the win a ‘paradigm shift’ while superstar Chiranjeevi regarded the win as ‘a Phenomenal, Historic Achievement.’
