What Does "Naatu Naatu" Mean?
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Even if it doesn't win tonight, "Naatu Naatu" will have made history. The song, from Indian action epic RRR, is nominated for Best Original Song, competing against Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Dianne Warren. "Naatu Naatu" is the first song in the Telugu language nominated, as well as the first from an Indian film to be nominated for an Oscar.
During the 95th Academy Awards telecast, singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava will perform "Naatu Naatu." When the performance was announced, Sipligunj wrote on Instagram, "This is going to be [an] unforgettable moment in my life."
But what does "Naatu Naatu" mean?
"Naatu means ethnicity, ethnic," composer M.M. Keeravani told Reuters. "Whatever I do is purely mine. It’s my own experience, it’s my own way of expression. These are my words, this is my style, look at me, this is who I am." In another interview with the New York Times, Keeravani shared,"It’s a word that says 'something of our own, our own culture.'"
Songwriter Chandrabose had a different interpretation of the meaning. He said, "Naatu means raw and rustic." He added, "Everything I wrote in the song is from my childhood memories of my life and my parents. That’s why I created it very fast."
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 brown buggers. 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?"
And they break into song, singing (using Priyanka P. Nair on YouTube and The Times of India's translations as reference):
Like the lead dancer dancing at a local goddess’s festival
Like an aggressive bull jumping in the dust of the fields, you to dance
Like the main dancer dancing at the festival of a local goddess
Like playing with the stick while wearing wooden slippers
Like a gang of young boys assembling under the shade of a banyan tree
Like as if you are eating a Jowar roti with a chili
Listen to my song (x3)
Let's dance, dance, dance / crazy dance
Let's dance, dance, dance / wild dance
Dance as if you have eaten green chilies / dance like a sharp dagger
Like a beating drum that makes your heart beat faster
Like the shrill voice of a bird which can make your ears
Like singing a song that can make your fingers snap to the beat
Like the wild dance with a fast beat
Like the dance that makes your body sweat
Listen to my song (x3)
Let's dance, dance, and dance / let's dance, crazy dance
Let's dance, dance, and dance / let's dance, wild dance
Let's dance, like the sharp plough
Let's dance, dance and dance / let's dance, like the humidity
Dance so that the blood in your body jumps violently, which will shale the earth (yes, yes!)
The life force inside of you should dance with joy, so jump until the dust rises in the air / let's dance
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.
"Naatu Naatu" was filmed at the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine, before Russia invaded the country.
Watch "Naatu Naatu" in RRR:
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