Recently, the 95th annual Academy Awards nominations were made public. SS Rajamouli’s Telugu film RRR received a nomination for the Best Original Song category for its musical song Naatu Naatu. Even Anupam Kher is a fan of the MM Keeravani song, which has caused crowds to physically dance in the aisles of theatres where it has been performed. The Kashmir Files, directed by Vivek Agnihotri, which is now out of the running for an Oscar in 2023, was mentioned by the legendary actor in a recent interview in addition to his praise for RRR and its song Naatu Naatu.
Earlier, a number of Indian movies, including Rishab Shetty’s Kannada film Kantara and Gangubai Kathiawadi with Alia Bhatt, made it to the list of 301 movies that might be nominated for an Oscar in 2023. The Kashmir Files, starring Anupam Kher, was also on the list. Anupam has now spoken out about how his movie didn’t win an Oscar nomination as well as the overwhelming support RRR has received so far during the Hollywood awards season.
The actor told Brut India that if RRR has now won the Critics’ Choice award and RRR has won the best song at the Golden Globes, it is the greatest feeling for Indian cinema. He also discussed why his film The Kashmir Files may not have received an Oscar nomination. Why shouldn’t we have a party? Therefore, The Kashmir Files must definitely have some issues. Because I actually thought, “Wow, the song Naatu Naatu, the whole crowd is dancing on that,” I am sort of the first person to tweet that. Because up to this point, all movie that they (western audiences) recognised dealt with the poverty of Indians or a foreign filmmaker.
Anupam Kher had earlier, on January 24, congratulated the whole RRR team upon the announcement of the Oscar 2023 nominations “The best news has come for Indian film. It has been decided to use a song from an original Indian film. In this category, I really hope this song takes home the (Oscar) medal.” Other nominees for the upcoming Oscars in the Best Documentary Feature Film and Best Documentary Short Film categories include All That Breathes and The Elephant Whisperers. The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles will host the 95th Academy Awards ceremony on March 12, 2023.
