India gets 3 nominations at Oscars 2023: 'Naatu Naatu' song, 2 documentaries in race

New York, Jan 24: In what could be considered as a memorable day for the Indian cinema, the country has got three nominations at the Academy Awards 2023.

'Naatu Naatu' song from SS Rajamouli's upcoming film 'RRR' has been officially nominated in the Original Song category. It is competing with 'Applause' from 'Tell it Like a Woman', 'Hold My Hand' from 'Top Gun: Maverick', 'Life Me Up' from 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' and 'Life Me Up' and 'This Is A Life' from 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'.

'Naatu Naatu' track, composed by MM Keeravani and penned by Kala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj, had recently bagged Best Original Song-Motion Picture at 80th Golden Globes Awards.

The film stars Ram Charan, Jr NTR, Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn in key roles. Released theatrically last March, "RRR" reportedly made over Rs 1,200 crore at the global box office. The lavishly mounted period epic is the first Indian film in over two decades to be nominated for the awards. The movie told the fictional story of two freedom fighters - Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem.

'Naatu Naatu' song had not only won the hearts of the fans for its catchy tune but also the amazing dance performance of Junior NTR and Ram Charan. It was shot at the Mariinsky Palace, the Presidential Palace of Ukraine in Kyiv where President Volodymyr Zelensky resides. The shooting took place in August 2021 as part of the final shooting schedule of the movie which went on to become one of the biggest blockbusters.

'Jai Ho; from the 2008 British film 'Slumdog Millionaire', directed by Danny Boyle, was the first Indian song to win an Academy Award in the Best Original Score and Original Song categories. It was composed by AR Rahman and penned by Gulzar.

The nominations for 23 categories of the 95th Academy Awards were announced by Hollywood actors Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams here. The Oscars will take place on March 12.

Indian Documentaries Make it to Oscars Nomination

Indian documentary 'All That Breathes' and short documentary film 'The Elephant Whisperers' are now in the race for the Oscars!

While 'All That Breathes' is nominated in 'Documentary Feature Film' category, 'The Elephant Whisperers' is in the Oscars race in 'Documentary Short Film Category'.