Oscars 2023: The Academy Awards are one of the biggest award nights for celebrating films and people associated with it, and this year was no different. The 95th Academy Award was held on Monday Morning (IST) at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. For Indians, this year’s award ceremony was special as there were three nominations from the country, out of which two bagged the coveted trophy. It was for the first time that two Indian productions won the Oscar awards - 'Naatu Naatu' and 'The Elephant Whisperers.' Not only this, there was also a special performance on an Indian song and our very own Deepika Padukone introducing it.
Here are five memorable moments (not in a particular order) from the award nights that will be remembered by the Indian audience for a long time:
Naatu Naatu’s win and MM Keeravani’s version of 'Top of the World'
'Naatu Naatu' from SS Rajamouli’s hit ‘RRR’ won Oscars for Best Original Song. It is for the first time that an Indian production has won the award in this category. After the award was announced, director S.S. Rajamouli’s epic reaction, screaming in joy and hugging his wife, was one of the adorable moments from the ceremony.
But what took the cake was the unusual acceptance speech by composer MM Keeravani that got him several rounds of applause. He gave his unusual spin to the ageless hit of The Carpenters, 'Top of the World', that many of his age have grown up grooving to.
"I grew up listening to The Carpenters and now here I am with the Oscars," Keeravani began, and then started singing his own version of the '70s pop smash hit: "There was only one wish on my mind. ... 'RRR' has to win, pride of every Indian, and must put me on top of the world."
Two Indian Women create history through The Elephant Whisperers
An Indian film winning an Oscar is a very rare feat, and it becomes all the more special if this history is created by two women. Netflix's short documentary 'The Elephant Whisperers', produced by Guneet Monga and directed by Kartiki Gonsalves, created history at the 95th Academy Awards by becoming the maiden Indian production to win in the Documentary Short Subject category.
"I stand here today to speak for the sacred bond between us and our natural world, for the respect of indigenous communities, and empathy towards other living beings we share space with, and finally, for coexistence," director Gonsalves said in her acceptance speech.
Guneet described the win as a moment of glory for India with "two women".
“Tonight is historic as this is the first-ever Oscar for an Indian production. India’s Glory with 2 women. Thank you Mom Dad Guruji Shukrana. To my Co-Producer Achin Jain, Team Sikhya, Netflix, Aloke, Sarafina, WME Bash Sanjana. My lovely Husband Sunny. Happy 3 months anniversary baby! Kartiki for bringing & weaving this story. To all the women watching…. The future is audacious and the future is here. Let’s go! Jai hind,” Monga wrote in her post.
Deepika Padukone channeling old Hollywood glamour and introducing the Naatu Naatu performance
Deepika Padukone made her Oscars debut this year as one of the presenters. The actress channeled old Hollywood glamour in a black off-shoulder jet-black Louis Vuitton gown for the event. She rounded up her look with diamond jewels, including statement rings, a bracelet and a necklace, a centre-parted messy bun, winged eyeliner, nude pink lip shade, and kohl-lined eyes.
The actress gave the audience an introduction to the ‘Naatu Naatu’ song before it was performed. The actress said, "An irresistibly catchy chorus, electrifying beats, and killer dance moves to match with have made this next song a global sensation. It plays during a pivotal scene in 'RRR', a movie about the real-life friendship between Indian revolutionaries Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaran Bheem. In addition to being sung in Telugu and illustrating the film's anti-colonial themes, it's also a total banger."
She further mentioned, "It has earned millions of views on YouTube and TikTok, has audiences dancing in movie theatres all around the world, and is also the first song ever from an Indian production to be nominated for an Oscar. Do you know 'Naatu' because if you don't you're about to."
The mind-blowing ‘Naatu Naatu’ Performance
This was an epic moment as an Indian song was performed on the Oscars stage. The song was crooned on stage by Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipliganj as international dancers grooved to the electrifying beats and the livewire lyrics of the song. The electrifying performance was received by huge applause and a standing ovation.
We bet Deepika was right, and all those who didn't know about 'Naatu', got to know it through the performance that rocked the Oscar stage.
Jimmy Kimmel threatening winners going overboard with their speeches, with 'Naatu Naatu' (and in the process calling it a Bollywood song)
'Naatu Naatu’ has truly become a global sensation. At the award ceremony, host Jimmy Kimmel announced that if the winners go overboard with their speech, they would be surrounded by a group of dancers shaking their legs to 'Naatu Naatu' and taken off the stage. In the process, he called ‘RRR’ a 'Bollywood movie’ - a term used for the Hindi film industry and detested by even Hindi film actors and actresses. ‘RRR’, which is a Telugu film directed by SS Rajamouli, starring Ram Charan, Jr NTR, doesn't fall under Bollywood.