The RRR team was thrilled as this morning Naatu Naatu won the Golden Globe, but it missed the main category award for best foreign film, which was disappointing for them. Now the Oscar chances also look bleak for the best film category.
SS Rajamouli’s RRR lost out on the Golden Globe award for the best picture—non-English category to Argentina’s historical drama Argentina, 1985. It was a bittersweet moment for the team at RRR, as minutes earlier the movie’s hit track, “Naatu Naatu” had won the award for the best original song in a motion picture.
“Argentina, 1985,” directed by Santiago Mitre, is based on actual events and follows the incidents surrounding the 1985 Trial of the Juntas, which prosecuted the ringleaders of Argentina’s last civil-military dictatorship.
The Golden Globes are an important prior to the Oscars. The event was telecast after a gap of one year, during which the industry largely blacklisted it considering serious accusations in relation to behind-the-scenes diversity and a lack of transparencies in the selection process.
In their 80th edition, comedian Jerrod Carmichael hosted the Golden Globes and featured several major industry figures in attendance.
Representing RRR at the ceremony were Rajamouli and his two stars, Jr. NTR and Ram Charan, who were accompanied by fellow nominee and composer MM Keeravani. Set in the 1930s, RRR is a fictional tale of two real-life freedom fighters, whose routes cross during a battle against the British Empire.
Indian films have been carrying out a spot at the Golden Globes going as long back as 1957, when V Shantaram’s Do Aankhen Barah Haath received the equivalent of the Best Non-English Language Film Award. Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi wasn’t an Indian production, but they acknowledged it as a foreign language film at the 40th Golden Globes and finished winning.
The legendary AR Rahman won the Globe for Best Original Score for his work on Danny Boyle’s ultimate Oscar winner, Slumdog Millionaire. They also nominated again him the following year for his score for Boyle’s 127 Hours.
RRR has had a dream run on the United States awards circuit. The film received a massively successful theatrical release in the States earlier this year, but it became a cult experience when its Hindi and international versions landed on Netflix. Through word of mouth alone, it developed as a streaming hit and later joined the discussion for Oscar awards.
The film scored five nods at the Critics’ Choice Awards besides its two nominations at the Golden Globes. They have shortlisted it at both the Oscars and the BAFTA, despite not being India’s official entry for the Academy Awards.
Thanks to a sustained movement driven by Rajamouli himself—the filmmaker devoted several weeks to promote the movie in the US—the film gained much momentum. Rajamouli won the prestigious New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Director, while RRR found spots on many American critics’ top 10 lists.
All eyes are now on January 24 when the Oscar nominations will be announced. They will announce the BAFTA nominations on January 19.
