Oscars 2023: RRR star NTR Jr on Naatu Naatu’s win - 'It’s just the beginning, showing us how far Indian cinema can go'

The team of RRR have been celebrating Naatu Naatu’s Oscar win. While composer MM Keeravani, who collected the award along with lyricist Chandrabose, for the Best Original Song, beating heavyweights such as Lady Gaga’s Hold My Hand from Top Gun: Maverick and Rihanna’s Lift Me UP from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the team ensured that they brought up how it’s a proud moment, not just for them but the whole of India.

Soon after the win, NTR Jr, who played the lead along with Ram Charan in SS Rajamouli’s RRR, in a press statement, said that he was lost for words and couldn’t describe his “elation right now”. “This is not just a win for RRR but for India as a country. I believe this is just the beginning. Showing us how far Indian cinema can go,” he said.

Also read: Oscars 2023 HIGHLIGHTS: Everything Everywhere All At Once, RRR, All Quiet on the Western Front win big; here's complete list of winners  

The actor, who is in the US with the rest of the team, also congratulated Keeravaani and Chandrabose for their historic achievement and emphasised “none of this would have been possible without a master storyteller called Rajamouli”. The actor also reserved praise for the audiences “who showered us with all the love”.

Naatu Naatu’s was the second win for an Indian project at this year’s Oscars, with The Elephant Whisperers clinching the award for the Best Documentary Short Subject. NTR Jr also lauded the team of the Netflix documentary for “bringing another Oscar to India”.

Also read: Naatu Naatu composer MM Keeravani's Carpenters-inspired Oscars acceptance speech: 'RRR has to win, the pride of every Indian'  

The RRR had several other reasons to celebrate the night, with Naatu Naatu also being performed live during the event by singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava. Fans would have been overjoyed if Ram Charan and NTR Jr would have joined Lauren Gottlieb for the famous hook step from the track, which has now become a rage across the world.

Composer Keeravani and lyricist Chandrabose now join AR Rahman and Gulzar as the only other Indian music director and lyricist to win an Oscar.