Naatu Naatu

 

Last night I ended up watching the Oscars since my roommates had it on our TV. One moment that stood out to me was hearing the song "Naatu, Naatu" and then having the song win an Oscar. There is something about it that is just bouncy and fun. 

It's the first Telugu language song to ever win at Oscars. Telugu is spoken by Telugu people predominantly living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. It is one of the twenty-two scheduled languages of the Republic of India. It is one of the few languages that has primary official status in more than one Indian state, alongside Hindi and Bengali. Telugu is one of six languages designated as a classical language (of India) by the Government of India.

In the film, the performance of "Naatu Naatu" takes place when Ram (Ram Charan) and Bheem (N. T. Rama Rao Jr.) are bullied for being the only Indian attendees of a British colonial party. When a British man insults them, saying "Look at all these (Derogatory Term). What do they know about art? About finesse? About dance? Tango, swing, flamenco? Can you do any of these?" Raju replies, "Not salsa, not flamenco, my brother. Do you know naatu?"

As a note, "Naatu Naatu" doesn't mean "dance dance," it translates more to "raw, unpolished." Basically they're describing their dance as "Naatu." If you watched RRR on Netfix in Hindi with English subtitles, you'll notice the lyrics are different—they are translating a Hindi version of the song.

Here is the clip of them dancing at the Oscars

Here is the full clip from the film the song is from "RRR"

'RRR' Director Breaks Down the Oscar-Winning Naatu Naatu Scene | Vanity Fair

This break down is fascinating including facts like this was filmed at the Ukraine presidential place

This is one English translation of the lyrics, 

But like any translation process different people/groups translate the song differently into English.