RRR was the toast of the night at the 95th Academy Awards. The film won an Oscar for Best Original Song for its chartbuster Naatu Naatu. But even before the song’s award was announced, it made its presence felt at the Oscars, in both the good and not-so-good way. The evening’s host Jimmy Kimmel mentioned Naatu Naatu in his opening monologue but also managed to make a faux pas, referring to RRR as a Bollywood film.
The term Bollywood is used to refer to the Hindi film industry. RRR, on the other hand, is a Telugu film, which was also dubbed in Hindi among other languages. Many fans took umbrage to a Telugu film being clubbed with Hindi films when the two are separate industries. “It’s not Bollywood. Smh. Can’t even get it right,” tweeted one angry netizen.
Others were a bit angrier. One tweet read, “I already hate the Oscars, mf called RRR Bollywood, I'm mad.” Some started a drinking game referring to Kimmel’s ignorance about the diversity in Indian cinema. One Twitter user wrote, “Everyone take a drink, first reference to RRR as Bollywood.” Many others vented their frustration wondering if somebody could send the message across to Hollywood. “Koi batao inn goron ko ki India me sirf Bollywood hi nahi hai (Someone tell these white people that India is not just Bollywood.”
There were, however, a few, who tried to explain to Westerners how RRR is not a Bollywood film. One explanatory tweet read, “Remember this: RRR & Naatu Naatu is NOT a Bollywood production. This gem comes from South India. India has more than one film industry. Bollywood is just the biggest one.” In the run-up to the Oscars, RRR director SS Rajamouli himself had clarified at an event in the US that RRR was not a ‘Bollywood film’ as many in the West were calling it.
RRR is a fictionalised account of the exploits of two real-life Indian revolutionaries from the 1920s. Naatu Naatu, composed by MM Keeravani and picturised on the film’s two leads – Ram Charan and Jr NTR – is an energetic dance track that has become a viral global sensation since the film’s international release last year. The original Telugu version of the song has been sung by Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj. The song’s choreography, which has earned praise worldwide, has been done by Prem Rakshith.
