Jr NTR and Ram Charan in a still from Naatu Naatu. (courtesy: RRRmovie)
Naatu Naatu from SS Rajamouli's RRR ruled the 95th Academy Awards in more than just one way. To begin with, it won the Best Original Song. Other than that, singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava performed the song live at the Oscars, which received a standing ovation from the audience. Oscars producer Raj Kapoor, in an interview, revealed that the film's lead actors Jr NTR and Ram Charan were initially supposed to perform at the Oscars too. However, they "did not feel comfortable performing the live number on stage," he revealed.
"Originally, the two leads were going to be the stars of the number alongside the singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava. The show was very instrumental in helping secure working visas for their team to be able to come to the US to be a part of the performance," Raj Kapoor said in an interview.
The Oscars producer added, "In late February, we were informed that Ram Charan and NT Rama Rao Jr would be attending the Oscars, but they did not feel comfortable performing the live number on stage. The change was brought on because of their other professional commitments and the limited amount of time to rehearse. The original number was workshopped and rehearsed for two months and was shot over a period of 15 days. The Naatu Naatu performance for the Oscars was rehearsed in Los Angeles with professional dancers for a total of 18 hours of rehearsal and one 90-minute camera blocking."
The Naatu Naatu live performance by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava at the Oscars, received a standing ovation from the audience.
Naatu Naatu was competing with tracks like Applause from Tell It Like A Woman, Hold My Hand from the movie Top Gun: Maverick, Lift me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and This Is Life from Everything Everywhere All At Once to win the Best Original Song Oscar.