Director S.S. Rajamouli’s magnum opus ‘RRR’, which has been winning the hearts of the audience globally, has clocked one year since its release.

On the occasion, Rajamouli’s son, S.S. Karthikeya took to Twitter to celebrate the first anniversary of the film.

He penned a long note about how the Oscar winning song ‘Naatu Naatu’ from the movie was conceptualised and then shot in Ukraine.

Karthikeya posted the note with the caption: “Probably, the most eventful year in my life. From the release of RRR to the Oscars. Will forever cherish this.”

The note started on an emotional beat, as it read: “Today is deeply emotional as it marks the completion of 1 year since the release of RRR, and the most glorious 365 days of uninterrupted celebrations. I’d like to ask you for a moment to share my love and thoughts.”

Karthikeya then reminisced about the time when the idea of the song came into existence: “Cut back to 2017 – the very idea of featuring two of the country’s biggest stars in one film sparked immense excitement in me and among everyone. Among the number of mind-bending sequences in the movie, one sequence which stood out and created a wave across the globe is ‘Naatu Naatu’. We all were obviously expecting a dance number, but I sure wasn’t able to imagine the context and the ‘HOW’. When Baba narrated the face-off sequence and the set-up, I was psyched out of my mind!

“As a crew member, I couldn’t wait to show this to everyone on the big screen and simultaneously as an audience, I couldn’t wait to watch it on the big screen! This power-packed dance number was like a movie by itself for me. Keeravaani Babai’s massy and electrifying tunes coupled with Bhairava’s final touch to the programming gave us goosebumps. After being energised by the magic of the audio, (programmed by Jeevan and Siddhu and sung by Bhairava and Rahul) began the visual rampage of Prem Master! The brief was simple – the dance moves should neither be too easy nor too complicated,” the note further read.

Karthikeya, in the note, said: “Prem Master then embarked on a long, relentless and arduous journey of choreographing the most challenging dance number ever… getting the country’s finest two dancers to dance together for the 1st time! He choreographed 120+ variations of the moves in a span of 2 months, from which around 15 or 20 were retained for the song. He kept rotating his crew as they used to get exhausted and couldn’t keep up with the rigour and pace of the steps.”

“The unwavering dedication, support and professionalism of our crew in Ukraine made our journey a smooth one and the ‘Naatu Naatu’ you see today possible. We will always have a special place in our hearts for our ‘Ukraine family’. Once our brilliant actors – Tarak anna and my brother Charan entered the sets, we quickly realised something big was in the making. Their blazing dance, the magical choreography, the pulsating music, and the overall vibe, the way all the elements complemented each other, made us believe that the theatres were going to be on fire. Without a doubt!” he added.

Thanking the fans, Karthikeya said: “We believe that the main reason ‘Naatu Naatu’ reached the Oscars is our fans and their unconditional love and unprecedented support until it became a global sensation. They made the song immortal not only on social media by carrying on their shoulder but also created euphoria which made it a part of sub-culture in many countries. We were elated when we conquered the box office across India and gained momentum in the west after toiling for years. However, little did we know that the best was yet to come, and we had barely started our journey.

“When Dylan, Josh Hurtado, Divergent, Accolade and Cinetic joined our family, it wasn’t just a synergy of experience and expertise… it was a synergy of love, dreams, passion and a shared vision. The common love helped us scale ‘RRR’ to unfathomable heights together. They reignited ‘RRR’ and Naatu Naatu’s hype in the West, reinvigorated our dreams of conquering the global stage and helped us reimagine the true potential of our film. They were our biggest cheerleaders who paved the way to the Oscars and saw a new beginning when we saw a glorious end.”

“While everyone says ‘RRR’ scripted history, it has transcended beyond a film to become a phenomenon, era, milestone and pride in all our careers. We will carry this in our hearts with humility and work more to make our nation more proud,” he concluded.

‘RRR’ stars NTR Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt and Shriya Saran and tells the fictional story of two real-life Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem and their fight against the British Raj.

Set in the 1920s, the plot explores the undocumented period in their lives when both the revolutionaries chose to go into obscurity before they began the fight for their country.

S.S. Rajamouli, who is basking in the attention that his magnum opus ‘RRR’ is getting after the Golden Globe win of ‘Naatu Naatu’, has set the record straight for American journalists. He has made it clear to them that the film is not a Bollywood movie, but “a Telugu film that comes from the south of India”.

Rajamouli was speaking to a group of journalists, following the screening of his film at the Directors Guild of America.

The director said: “RRR is not a Bollywood film, it is a Telugu film from the south of India where I come from, but I use the song to move the story forward rather than stopping the film and giving you a piece of music and dance. I just use those elements to move the story forward.”

He added: “At the end of the film, if you say I didn’t feel it like for three hours, then I know I am a successful filmmaker.”

Rajamouli’s magnum opus is all over the news as the song ‘Naatu Naatu’ from ‘RRR’ won the Golden Globe Award in the Best Original Song category. The song defeated the likes of Rihanna’s ‘Lift Me Up’ from ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ and Taylor Swift’s ‘Carolina’ from ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’.

SS Rajamouli’s recent magnum opus RRR failed to get nominated by the Film Federation of India (FFI) for the Oscars from India. Chhello Show is the film that is the official entry from the country in the category of Best Foreign Film. But Rajamouli has been working hard and is meeting the voting members of the Academy Awards. Hollywood-based agency Creative Artists Agency is representing Rajamouli for the Oscars. Rajamouli is the first Indian director to ink a deal with this creative agency. The agency is taking RRR to all the voting members and a number of screenings of RRR are held in the recent weeks.

Rajamouli too has been spending ample time abroad and is available for the screenings of RRR. Several lunch and dinner meetings happened in the recent weeks. There are several critics and technicians who lauded and promoted RRR. The entire nation is eagerly waiting for the Oscars. RRR is a periodic film set during the pre-independence era that had NTR and Ram Charan in the lead roles. The film was one of the biggest hits among the Indian films of 2022. Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, Samuthirakani and others played some prominent roles in RRR.

SS Rajamouli is now a global director with RRR and the film impressed the international crowds big time. The top director is spending ample time and money promoting RRR across the international platforms. This would help his next film which will have Superstar Mahesh Babu in the lead role. The film would be a stylish action entertainer and will be made on a massive budget. Rajamouli is not in a mood for foreign investors but he is keen on collaborations with international studios. There are multiple reasons for this. He wants a good and huge release for his next film and it should be promoted on a grand note.

Two Hollywood studios are keen to collaborate with SS Rajamouli for Mahesh Babu’s film and the talks are in advanced stages. Rajamouli would zero in on one among them and will lock one of them for collaboration. KL Narayana will pool the funds for the film. The signed Hollywood studio will be responsible for the global promotions and the release. There are reports that several Hollywood actors will be roped in to play crucial roles. The shoot of the film will commence in 2023 and the film may have its release in 2025.