Shake a leg: India fetes RRR Golden Globes win

India celebrated a rare Hollywood triumph yesterday after movie RRR won a Golden Globe for best song, seeing off competition from superstars Taylor Swift and Rihanna.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the “very special accomplishment” after the win by the high-octane action movie’s barnstorming song-and-dance number Naatu Naatu.
“This prestigious honour has made every Indian very proud,” Modi said on Twitter.
Local media reports said it was the first time an Indian film had won an award at the competition. RRR is the story of two colonial-era revolutionaries, and features echoes of Hindu mythology alongside fights, fire and action galore — as well as gravity-defying stunts and even a punch-up with a tiger.
Produced by southern India’s Telugu-language film industry last March, the movie has become a huge word-of-mouth hit, both in India and abroad, with moviegoers dancing in cinema aisles.
The three-hour epic has also seen major success on streaming platform Netflix, and was nominated for a Globe in the best non-English language film category, but lost to Argentina, 1985.
The winning song-and-dance sequence in RRR was shot outside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s official residence in 2021 — before Russia’s invasion — according to director S S Rajamouli.
The critically acclaimed Rajamouli, who has produced some of India’s biggest blockbusters in the last few years, said that it was a “special” award.
“Speechless Music truly knows no boundaries.
I thank each and every fan across the globe for shaking their leg and making it popular ever since the release,” tweeted Rajamouli.
In the musical number, co-stars Ram Charan and Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr — as well as a sizeable crowd — stomp around in a vigorous routine that blends multiple styles.
It has sparked viral imitations online.
“It took me two months to choreograph it.We shot for 20 days and did 43 retakes,” choreographer Prem Rakshit told Indian media.
Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan joined others to celebrate the win.
“Sir just woke up and started dancing to Naatu Naatu celebrating your win at Golden Globes,” Khan told Rajamouli on Twitter. “Here’s to many more awards & making India so proud!!”
Khan’s fellow Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar said it was a “proud moment”. Led by the Hindi-language Bollywood, India has the world’s most prolific film industry.
The country churns out thousands of movies each year in multiple Indian languages, which are also dubbed and consumed by audiences across South Asia, Central Asia, Africa and beyond. Rajamouli told The Hollywood Reporter before his win that global recognition was “really important”.
“If this buzz really puts a spotlight on our industry and helps me and my filmmakers in the future to take our stories outside the world. So it is really really important to us.”
Mumbai yoga teacher Brijesh Mishra, 34, was also proud of the win, saying it “shows our Indian culture, our Indian cinema (is) growing globally”.
“Most people abroad, they do not understand the language.
But due to the beats and due to the catchy song, they can just vibe to it,” said student Vinal Gurthula, 17.
“They can just dance their hearts out.”