Oscars producer reveals why Jr NTR and Ram Charan didn’t perform Naatu Naatu live

SS Rajamouli’s epic RRR made history as the music composer for the film, MM Keeravani, bagged the award for Best Original Song (Naatu Naatu) at the recently held Oscars. The track was also performed live on stage at the event by singers Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj making it a first for India. The performance received a standing ovation from the audience. 

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According to reports, initially, the two lead actors of RRR, Ram Charan and Jr NTR were supposed to perform on the track on stage, with background dancers, as Rahul and Kaala Bhairava sang the song. But the actors backed out of the performance. A producer for the Oscars, Raj Kapoor, told media sources, that the actors didn’t dance to the sensation due to multiple reasons one of which being that Ram and Jr NTR were not comfortable performing on stage. 

On the topic of the performance, Raj said in an interview, “Originally, the two leads were going to be the stars of the number alongside the singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava. The show was very instrumental in helping secure working visas for their team to be able to come to the US to be a part of the performance...Once we had the musical edit approved by MM Keeravaani, we did late-night Zoom calls with the choreography team in India and Los Angeles. We shared casting choices, costume design ideas, and stage renderings with the team from India.”

The producer added, “In late February, we were informed that Ram Charan and NT Rama Rao Jr would be attending the Oscars, but they did not feel comfortable performing the live number on stage. The change was brought on because of their other professional commitments and the limited amount of time to rehearse. The original number was workshopped and rehearsed for two months and was shot over a period of 15 days. The Naatu Naatu performance for the Oscars was rehearsed in Los Angeles with professional dancers for a total of 18 hours of rehearsal and one 90-minute camera blocking.”

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In the end, the song was performed by Rahul and Kaala Bhairava who were accompanied by dancers. The performance was introduced by Deepika Padukone. At the event, the audience cheered every time the actress said the name of the track.