Why Naatu Naatu got Golden Globe

When the entire nation is celebrating after Naatu Naatu song from Rajamouli's magnum opus Rrr became the first Asian song to win the prestigious Golden Globe award for the best original song, many are however bashing the song, saying it is a cheap song, the film itself is a cheap one and started making fun of the accent, lyrics, dance moves and each and every single detail and started concluding that the film or the song doesn't deserve the award and something fishy happened and Rrr makers managed the jury.

So for all the detractors of Naatu Naatu, let us dissect why Naatu Naatu got the Golden Globe and why it deserves it and why it may even go on to win the Oscars. As many of the detractors do not know the reason they are coming out with some funny and hateful posts and if they know the real facts, anyone's eyes will turn moist.

The award for this song challenges our age-old ideas about film songs and their excellence. So understanding this requires a new perspective. First – let us tell you what is special about this song. Next – let's analyze why this song is worth the award. The song “Natu Natu” is on par with “Shiva Shankari” (Jagadeka Veeruni Katha– 1961) and “Takita Tathimi” (Sagara Sangam – 1983). This comparison is especially valid in terms of directors' imagination, execution, and the response they create in the audience.

If we look at the way the directors have designed it – these songs are clearly in a 3-act structure. The songs were written in the popular 3-act structure of film screenplays. This increased the desirability effect the directors expected from the film. The 3 act structure in brief is explained in the following way– 3 act structure divides the movie into 3 acts. 1st Act – Set up. This is where the protagonist gets a problem, a goal. Introduction from characters to the story world. Up to the first 30-35 minutes of our movies.2nd Act – This is where the main events of the film take place. The hero tries to solve the problem and so on. The hero's efforts and encounters will entertain the audience. In our movies, from 30 minutes, the interval, then another half hour passes here.Act 3- The resolution is taking the anti-climax to the point where there is no chance of success, and from that to the victory - this is the way to the climax of Act 3. This is a simplification. There may be errors.

Now let us relate this 3 Act structure to the Naatu Naatu song. The song follows a similar 3-act structure. What is the theme of the song? This is almost the background of the movie. Both have themes similar to folk tales. The song has 3 acts: Ram (Ram Charan) and Bheem (NTR) are racially insulted by a white man, who provokes them to ask if they deserve to dance, and starts asking do they know how to dance. The goal is to deal with such an insult. Dance is the way to deal with that. The song “Natu Natu” comes in the form of the second act. The song engrosses the audience with dusty dance and foot-stomping tunes. Here, through the second act, everything was done to entertain the audience through the beat of the song and dance. And in the 3rd act, the dose of fun increases. Defeating the Britisher is not an achievement but the goal becomes smaller. It becomes a competition to see who will win between the two heroes. In the end, Ram ends up losing to help Bheem win Jenny's heart. They will win everyone's hearts both on and off the screen.

So it's not “just” a song. A full-length story in five minutes. The imagination of the director and the writer alone is not enough to make this story come alive. It needs flesh and blood. Perfect execution is essential. Then the technicians and actors come on the screen. Before talking about the execution let's look at the comparison again. The other two songs – “Shivashankari”, and “Takita Thathimi” follow the same pattern. These two songs also tell full-length stories. Screenplay principles that apply to the film are broadly applicable to both of these.

In the song Shivashankari, the sage is not free from its curse till Pratap (NTR) melts the rock. To achieve that he has to sing a song that melts rocks. Using the gift that the hero already has, he transforms himself into five people and sings a song, and melts the rock. The story told in Takita Tathimi's song is different. K. Vishwanath “Master of Drama”. He is a director at a different level in designing and cultivating drama. Dance master Balakrishna aka Balu (Kamal Haasan) who became a drunkard, the hero, and he doesn't know that he heroine Madhavi's (Jayasudha) that her husband is gone. This is the premise.

The hero is completely drunk and dances on the well in the pouring rain. No matter what the worker says, he doesn't listen. The heroine decides to meet the hero, but if she meets him, he will know that there is no sindhoor. .As the situation worsens she takes a tough decision. The story is different in the three songs. The desired emotion is different. So what they did to get it is different. – KV Reddy chose the music to make his song. Ghantasala is the hero of that song. Pandya's music is also amazing. NTR and Pingali helped. That song is immortal in the history of cinema.

K. Vishwanath primarily believed in the strength of screenplay writing and then built it on the pillars of music-literary-acting-dance. In this Veturi, Ilayaraja, Kamal, and Jayaprada competed against each other.

In the case of the song “Natu Natu”, director Rajamouli wanted a great dance to flesh out the story he was telling through the song, and an upbeat song to justify the dance. Choreography composed by Prem Rakshit is just perfect for it. NTR and Ram Charan's dance, Keeravani's music, Chandrabose's lyrics, singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava breathed life into the song and turned the story in song powerful.

Many are criticizing that a film song cannot be a great song unless it is excellent musically, lyrically, or both. But the director should show what he wants to say and use whatever is necessary to entertain. That is what happened in these three songs. Movie lovers who are enjoying the song and whistling and dancing in theatres are unaware of this and it is for the analysts to notice and inform that there is such a structure behind this song that made them excited so much, and that there is so much planning and effort.