Naatu Naatu composer MM Keeravani: 'Wanted to end my Oscars speech with Jai Hind but...'

M.M. Keervani's long and glorious career as a music composer received a fitting honour when he, along with lyricist Chandrabose, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the RRR song Naatu Naatu. While the achievement attracted a lot of praise and love from all corners of the world, Keeravani's rather unusual but endearing acceptance speech, too, got everyone talking.

M.M. Keeravani opted out of the usual routine for his Oscars speech and instead enthralled the massive audience with his own version of Carpenters' Top of the World song. In a recent interview with a media outlet, the composer revealed that he wanted to make the best of the 45 seconds that are awarded to every Oscar winner and chose to express his gratitude & joy in the form of a song. 

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But, the time restriction did come in the way of the 61-year-old composer who, in the same interview, shared that a small but crucial segment of his acceptance speech got omitted while on stage. 

"Prior to the event, we had an Oscars Luncheon where the President of the Academy strictly told us that our speeches will have to be no longer than 45 seconds. No matter how many people are involved in a single award, only one person representing the team is allowed to speak and so on. It wasn't easy to put all my thoughts in that single 45-second-long slot so I chose to sing a song. 

But in my preparation, there was also a slogan which was meant to be in the end, which was 'Jai Hind'. I couldn't say it because while I was speaking, a warning popped up 3-4 times on the TV monitor in front, saying 'wrap it up'. So, naturally, one gets tensed with that and I forgot to say Jai Hind. But I got a chance to write it digitally backstage, as soon as we walked off the stage," said the RRR composer, who has now worked with S.S. Rajamouli on eleven films.

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Quite indeed, the limited time allotted for the Oscars acceptance speech has been a bone of contention for many artists over the years. In the same interview, M.M Keeravani revealed that Guneet Monga felt breathless after her win and was even hospitalized because she wasn't allowed to make her speech.