Naatu Naatu lyricist Chandrabose explains meaning behind Oscar winning song

The RRR song Naatu Naatu won Best Original Song at Oscars 2023. The Telugu song has received attention on a global level, though it’s unclear to many what the song actually represents. Naatu Naatu songwriter Chandrabose recently opened up about the meaning behind the song and its title.

Chandrabose was part of a conversation in an episode of the podcast Best in Show. The songwriter explained that the word ‘Naatu’ connotes primitive words such as “country, native, rural, village, rustic, ethnic.” He added that it is more related to “an indigenous thing, the countryside” than anything else. Bose concludes that “village-side things can be defined as ‘Naatu’.”

This is in stark contrast to what many believe the song’s title to believe. Many people have loosely translated the song’s title to “Dance Dance.” Chandrabose also explained how the word 'Naatu' struck his mind upon first hearing the story of RRR from director SS Rajamouli. 

Chandrabose also talked about the polarity between Jr NTR and Ram Charan’s characters, which also applies to him and the song’s composer, MM Keeravaani. While Charan’s character Raju comes from Andhra Pradesh, Jr NTR’s character Komaram Bheem comes from Telangana.

Similarly, MM Keeravaani hails from the state of Andhra Pradesh, while Chandrabose is from Telangana. As Raju's character represents fire and Bheem's character represents water, Chandrabose said that the same dynamic came into play between himself and MM Keeravaani.

“These two guys come from different Telugu states: Raju from Andhra, Bheem from Telangana. I belong to Telangana and Keeravani here belongs to Andhra, so he is Raju, I'm Bheem!” 

Rahul Sipligunj, Kala Bhairava perform at Oscars 2023

Naatu Naatu bagged the Best Original Song award at Oscars. Before the win, the song's singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kala Bhairava performed at the event in style. The duo received a standing ovation for their performance. The song is composed by MM Keeravaani and penned by Chandrabose. Deepika Padukone introduced the performance.