'RRR' wins Best Foreign Language Film, Best Song for 'Naatu Naatu' at CCA 2023

Los Angeles: SS Rajamouli’s ”RRR” continued its winning streak as the global blockbuster won two trophies — Best Foreign Language Film and Best Song for ”Naatu Naatu” –at the Critics Choice Awards (CCA) here.

The Telugu magnum opus, headlined by Ram Charan and Jr NTR, was nominated in five categories at the CCA — Best Picture, Best Director (Rajamouli), Best Foreign Language film, Best Visual Effects (V Srinivas Mohan) and Best Song (‘Naatu Naatu’).

In the Best Foreign Language Film, ”RRR” was competing against films such as ”All Quiet on the Western Front”, ”Argentina 1985”, ”Bardo”, ”False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”, ”Close” and ”Decision to Leave”.

Directed by filmmaker SS Rajamouli, ”RRR” is a pre-Independence fictional story focusing on two real-life Indian revolutionaries in the 1920s — Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem.

The footapping dance number from the film ”Naatu Naatu”, which won the ‘best original song-motion picture’ at the Golden Globes last week, was nominated for the CCA along side ”Carolina” (Where the Crawdads Sing), ”Ciao Papa” (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio), ”Hold My Hand” (Top Gun: Maverick), ”Lift Me Up” (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) and ”New Body Rhumba” (White Noise).

The track has been composed by veteran music director MM Keeravaani and voiced by singers Kala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj.

Filmed on Ram Charan and Jr NTR, ”Naatu Naatu”translates to bucolic in Telugu and demonstrates the spirit of fun in country music over 4.35 breathless minutes of song and dance. Choreographed by Prem Rakshith, it has legions of followers still trying to master its steps.

It also features in the Oscars shortlist announced last month. Last week, the movie made it to the BAFTA longlist for ‘film not in English language’ category.