Meet MM Keeravani, man behind Oscar-winning RRR song Naatu Naatu, and one of India's most decorated composers

The flavour of the day is RRR’s chartbuster Naatu Naatu. The song did not only create havoc in India but now has the world dancing to its beat. On Monday morning, the song won the Best Original Song at the Oscars 2023, bringing the first Academy Award by an Indian feature film. While Jr NTR and Ram Charan have been praised for their energetic dance to it and SS Rajamouli for his grand presentation of the song, the track is the brainchild of veteran composer MM Keeravani

Who is MM Keeravani?

MM Keeravani, who has also been known as MM Kreem, is one of the most celebrated composers in India, having scored the music for over a hundred films in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, and Malayalam films. Keervani began his career as an assistant to Telugu composer K. Chakravarthy and Malayalam composer C. Rajamani in 1987. He first composed music independently in 1990 for the unreleased film Kalki but the soundtrack went unnoticed. His first success came later in the year with the film Manasu Mamatha.

Some of the major compositions of MM Keeravani

In the 90s, Keeravani established himself as a premier composer in the Telugu film industry with films like Kshana Kshanam, , Gharana Mogudu, Soorya Manasam, Varasudu, Allari Priyudu, etc. In 1994, he scored his first major success in Bollywood with the film Criminal and the song Tu Mile. He had several other hits in Hindi cinema, including Zakhm, Jism, and Paheli.

#MMKeeravani 's winning speech from the #Oscars95
for the original song #NaatuNaatu from #RRR

First Indian movie song to win an oscar. #Oscars #AcademyAwards #RRRMovie #SSRajamoulipic.twitter.com/vBaniIKgtB

— Bharath Kumar Nakka (@ibharath) March 13, 2023

MM Keeravani’s collaboration with SS Rajamouli

MM Keeravani and RRR director SS Rajamouli are cousins. Keeravani composed music for Rajamouli’s debut film Student No 1, back in 2001. The duo has since collaborated in all the films Rajamouli has made, gaining huge success in hits like Magadheera, the Baahubali series, and now RRR.

How special is Naatu Naatu’s Oscars win?

Naatu Naatu beat some big names in the Best Original Song category, including Diane Warren’s Applause from Tell It Like A Woman, Lady Gaga’s Hold My Hand from Top Gun Maverick, Rihanna’s Lift Me Up from Black Panther Wakanda Forever, and Ryan Lott’s This is a Life from Everything Everywhere All At Once. RRR is a fictionalised account of the exploits of two real-life Indian revolutionaries from the 1920s. Naatu Naatu, picturised on the film’s two leads – Ram Charan and Jr NTR – is an energetic dance track that has become a viral global sensation since the film’s international release last year. The original Telugu version of the song has been sung by Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj. The song’s choreography, which has earned praise worldwide, has been done by Prem Rakshith.