Did you know RRR song Naatu Naatu was shot outside Ukraine President Zelenskyy's palace? Know the story behind it

RRR scripted history on Wednesday by becoming the first Indian film to win a Golden Globe Award. The film lost out in the Best Non-English Film category but did score a big win in the Best Original Song category. Its dance number Naatu Naatu beat heavyweights like Rihanna and Lady Gaga to take home the big prize. What is interesting about Naatu Naatu is that it was shot in Ukraine at a site that is now in the middle of a war zone.

RRR is a Telugu period action drama directed by SS Rajamouli. It stars Ram Charan and Jr NTR as fictionalized versions of two real-life Indian freedom fighters from the 1920s. The song Naatu Naatu comes at a juncture in the film where the two heroes perform in a dance off to beat the colonial British snobs putting them down. The energetic dance number has enjoyed great popularity in India and abroad since the film’s release last year.

Naatu Naatu was shot in 2021 in Ukraine’s capital Kiev. The big building that serves as the backdrop to the song is actually Mariinskyi Palace, the official residence of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In 2021, in an interview with filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga, RRR director SS Rajamouli had said, “We shot the Naatu Naatu song in Ukraine. It is a real location. Actually, it is the Ukrainian President’s palace. There is a parliament right beside the palace. Luckily, they gave us permission to shoot because the Ukrainian president was a television actor. The funny thing is that he acted as the President in a TV series before becoming the President.”

Later in the year, when the Russia-Ukraine War broke out, the area became off bounds for tourists. Ram Charan reportedly sent provisions and monetary help back for some of the local crew members of the film affected by the violence there.

Naatu Naatu has been composed by MM Keeravani with the original Telugu lyrics penned by Chandrabose. The track has been sung by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava for the original Telugu version, with other singers like KD Harisankar, Yazin Nizar, and Vishal Mishra lending their voices for the dubbed versions. The song has been choreographed by Prem Rakshith.

Speaking to Cine Josh last year, Prem Rakshit had revealed he worked for 30 days on 97 dance movements for the song and that the team used ultra zoom in order to get the sync right between the actors. Originally, the plan was to shoot the song in the backdrop of 100 dancers, they later decided against it due to the lead stars’ dance moves.