RRR went up against some seemingly stiff competition in the Best Song category at this year’s Golden Globes. But if you’ve actually seen the epic film, a Telugu-language adventure of over-the-top, glorious scale, you know that “Naatu Naatu” is the most deserving winner of the bunch.
Still, honoring M. M. Keeravani’s fantastic Bollywood-style song seems like an atypical choice. Also nominated were songs by Taylor Swift (the flaccid “Carolina”) and Lady Gaga (that song from Top Gun), after all. Surely the Golden Globes would want to give them a chance to give some tearful speech?
Instead, Keeravani took the win and gave a heartfelt thanks to his family, creative partners, and industry. Crafting the most memorable song of 2022, Keeravani deserved more time for his speech than the producers gave him; he was the first person played off the stage at this already slow-moving show. But use that extra time now to do yourself a favor and watch the scene from RRR featuring “Naatu Naatu.”
It’s a fantastically choreographed piece of art, a turning point for this film that combines action with comedy with romance with history with religion with … name a theme, and it’s in RRR. At a party for the white, British bourgeois occupying the city of Delhi in 1920, our Indian protagonists stand out among the crowd. The white guests mock them for not knowing how to do the boring, incredibly white dance style of the time. How wrong they are! Bheem and Raju, our heroes, have to initiate a dance battle to prove themselves, and it is a joyful, beautiful moment.
Screw the Globes—watch “Naatu Naatu” right now. Then, tomorrow, give yourself three hours to stream RRR on Netflix.
