JR NTR Says Ram Charan And He Will Not Dance To Naatu Naatu On Stage At Oscars 2023

Actor Jr NTR has responded to a question on if he and his RRR co-star Ram Charan will perform the iconic song Naatu Naatu on stage at the 95th Academy Awards. In a new interview, Jr NTR spoke about MM Keeravani, Rahul Sipligunj, and Kaala Bhairava performing the track. He also said that it will not be the actor, but India who will walk down the red carpet. (Also Read | Oscars 2023: SS Rajamouli discusses Naatu Naatu’s costumes, choreography and more)
Naatu Naatu is the hit song from the period action epic RRR, helmed by SS Rajamouli. The song has been composed by MM Keeravani. It has been nominated for the Best Original Song award at the upcoming Oscars. RRR is the first Indian film in over two decades to be nominated for the Academy Awards. Naatu Naatu is the first Indian song to be nominated at the Oscars.
Speaking with KTLA, Jr NTR talked about whether he will be dancing to Naatu Naatu at the event, “I don’t think that’s happening. I was looking forward for it to happen. But, unfortunately, we didn’t have time to rehearse. Because we don’t want to go on to the biggest stage in the world and go unprepared. So, we were busy, I was busy and so was maybe Charan busy with a lot of prior commitments back home. So, I don’t think we will be performing but our music director (MM) Keeravani, the singers of the song Rahul (Sipligunj), and my brother (Kaala) Bhairava, they will be performing the song. I think it will be nice for me to sit in the audience and watch the song because the moment I watch that clip, my legs have started aching all over again.”
Talking about walking on the red carpet at the Oscars, Jr NTR added, “I am prepared for it. I don’t think it’s going to be NTR Jr, I don’t think it’s me, I don’t think it’s going to be Komaram Bheem who is going to walk that carpet. I think it’s India that’s going to walk that carpet. I think it’s going to be the whole nation, we are going to carry the whole nation in our hearts. It could be me, it could be Rajamouli, it could be my co-actor Ram Charan, we are going to walk with our nation in our hearts. I am looking forward to that.”
RRR follows a pre-Independence fictional story woven around two real-life Indian revolutionaries–Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Jr NTR) – in the 1920s. The film also features Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn, and Shriya Saran in key roles. The Oscars ceremony will be held in Los Angeles on March 12.