The song 'Naatu Naatu' from RRR won the Oscar Award. There was a lot of buzz surrounding Ram Charan and Jr NTR's presence at the event, even though they were only the actors in the film and not nominees.
Director Rajamouli, the main strategist behind the entire Oscar campaign for the film, made his presence felt. The nominee Keeravani's name was also mentioned loudly. However, Chandrabose, the other nominee, was ignored for a long time, especially at the Golden Globe Awards. The Rajamouli team deliberately messed up by giving the names of singers instead of the lyricist to the Golden Globe authorities, probably to prevent Chandrabose from receiving an official invitation. As Rajamouli had spent his own budget, he wanted to get all the attention for himself and his family members. He was selfish and did not want to share the popularity with other deserving people who worked on his film.
However, things took a different turn at the Oscars. Rajamouli and his team could not play the same game they played at the Golden Globe Awards. The Oscar took the name of lyricist Chandrabose and sent an official invitation. Finally, the song 'Naatu Naatu' received the award, and Chandrabose also came onto the list along with Keeravani. However, it was only Keeravani who took away the entire time to address the audience with a parody song mentioning his feelings. He did not give any time for Chandrabose to speak, so he simply said 'Namaste' in the mic before stepping down from the dais. Many Telugus may have expected to hear a few Telugu lines from Chandrabose from the Oscar dais, but he was again camouflaged.
Then there's the story of Rahul Sipligunj, the singer who sang the song along with Kalabhairava, the son of Keeravani. The Oscar Academy planned a live performance of the song and thus invited Rahul Silpligunj along with Kalabhairava. Although it was not an award-winning performance, the opportunity to perform on the Oscar stage is the most prestigious of all entertainment events in the world. So, like Chandrabose sharing the award with Rajamouli's family member Keeravani, Rahul Sipligunj shared the attention with another Rajamouli family member, Kalabhairava. This happened only because of the plan and invitations of the Oscar Academy.
Last but not least is Prem Rakshit, the choreographer of the song who is the main responsible technician to make 'Naatu Naatu' a global phenomenon. He was mentioned sporadically but was not given enough space in front of cameras.
The biggest blunder of all was not mentioning the name of DVV Danayya at least once. He was the man who produced the film, taking on all the financial tensions, interests, release headaches due to Covid restrictions, and many more. He was the man who arranged everything for the smooth making of the film. However, he ended up as an unsung hero just because of Rajamouli's decision not to let his name be heard at the Oscar event. In his address from the dais, Keeravani acknowledged Karthikeya, the son of Rajamouli. The public has no clue if that name is worth mentioning.
Rajamouli is ambitious and talented, but he is selfish, and that has been proven.
Nerella Raghuram
