It is also time to ponder what took us so long to get recognition on a global platform when we’ve had so many more chartbusters that became a rage in recent times. Are we not giving our music enough exposure on the international platforms? Does Indian music lack representation at the global awards? What made Naatu Naatu stand out from the international stalwarts? And is there something we can do to put more of Indian music on the global map? We find out.
Why Naatu Naatu?
With team RRR campaigning for months to promote their film around the world, the film was bound to get recognition in international circuits. Besides putting their film out for selection at international awards, RRR had its solid story and other elements on filmmaking working in its favour. Naatu Naatu in itself is a song that was specifically written to build the emotions and propel the story and the narrative of the film forward. So it served a very specific purpose in the movie rather than being just a promotional song.
Grammy Award winning Indian music composer Ricky Kej tells ETimes that Naatu Naatu won the Best Original Song Award based on how well it fit within the film, and how well it works for the film. “This award is not just for the song, it’s about how well it was written for the film. I believe that among the five nominations, Naatu Naatu fits best. In my opinion, it was definitely the winner, simply because if you look at it from a song perspective, it showcases everything that the movie is about – it’s about friendship, it’s about sacrifice, because at the end, one friend sacrifices the victory for the other friend. It is also about energy, it is about the limit of love going on within the song. Basically, it showcases everything that the film is about, it is showcased beautifully through that one song. That’s the reason why I felt that it was definitely the winner in that category,” he says.
Singer Aditya Narayan says he was blown over by Naatu Naatu right when he first heard it even before the release of the film. “The global acclaim that RRR has received, ek hawa chali hai,” he says. “People really seem to have enjoyed the experience of being in a cinema and watching the film. RRR has managed to strike a chord with the Western audiences. And I feel they envision Indian cinema to be a certain way. And from whatever reviews and all, when they watched the film, they felt like it was a very celebratory experience. We are culturally very diverse and we are known for our song and dance routines. And definitely one thing that I agree upon with everybody is that when we watch Naatu Naatu in context of the film, it is a very exhilarating experience.”
Music composer and director Ismail Darbar is elated to see a song like Naatu Naatu winning a Golden Globe Award. “I liked it right after I heard it for the first time. Even the audience loved it so much and such a song has won this recognition. It makes me extremely happy,” he says.
Singer-composer Papon, a huge fan of MM Keeravaani’ opines Naatu Naatu has a different sound. “I think it’s definitely a different sound. The world has so many different sounds. I’m glad they have opened up to different sounds to recognise such music across the world and it’s quite a happy, different beat. The beats are amazing. MM Keeravaani’s work getting recognised like this, it’s the best piece of news for me today,” he exclaims.
Sound designer Resul Pookutty has won the Oscar as well as BAFTA for Slumdog Millionaire. He tells ETimes that there is a huge difference between India and the West. “The West has a separate music industry and India doesn’t (in a very minimal way),” he says. “India’s conception of music is all through its mainstream films, the success of the music is connected with identifiable stars and story situations which are completely different from the West, especially Hollywood. They have separate musicals or songs featured in animation films. It’s not part of their mainstream film making culture. So at the Oscars, it’s identified with the film’s narrative. Naatu Naatu win is especially important for RRR’s prospects at the Oscars. It is a reassuring thing for the Indian film fraternity – this acceptance of our narrative and sounds by the West. Nobody looked down upon us for the dance and dramas in our films. A decade ago it was different. RRR’s global success shows that.”
Scope for other Indian songs
Industry insiders believe India has rich music and Indian movies have had quite a few songs that also deserved recognition on the international platforms. As Papon tells us, “Definitely there are other songs I personally think should be up there at the world level to be recognised for awards. And such achievements (like Naatu Naatu winning Golden Globe) should happen because there’s much more better music, which I don’t know… the West wasn’t opening up to, maybe? I hope in the coming years, we get such amazing music which has been coming out of Asia and India particularly to go and reach the world stage.”
“There was this song Srivalli from Pushpa that was sung by Javed Ali. Woh bhi takkar ka gaana tha,” opines Ismail Darbar. “I would have loved to see that song win awards too. I liked it so much when I heard it that I called Javed and complimented him. Just like Naatu Naatu, that song has great composition, great arrangement and rhythm. If a good composer’s song goes in a film, even he gets a good exposure, otherwise a wrong film drowns everyone together. Back in the day, one of my old compositions Tadap Tadap from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and even the title song were competent enough to be sent for global awards. Such compositions are rare. Songs like Maar Daala from Devdas cannot be replicated ever, but they were not valued. It’s a sad thing.”
Aditya Narayan agrees we have some really good songs in our films. “But do they all manage to kind of penetrate that international barrier? I don’t think so,” he says. “And do they have the means to kind of push their film or their soundtrack to amplify the success of their film or their story to the world? I don’t think so. So with RRR, they had the goods, Rajamouli was already coming from making Baahubali which was pretty much a global event once again. So people really flocked to watch the film. We all knew that RRR had a certain momentum going before the award season and it was being presented to the right people. And the right people seem to have enjoyed the experience. I’m always all for India and Indian music and Indian arts getting international acclaim because we deserve it. There were a lot of questions raised when AR Rahman won Oscars and Grammy for Slumdog Millionaire. But I don’t look at Rahman sir as just someone who has composed Jai Ho. For me Rahman is whatever he has done from Roja all the way to whatever he is doing today. And on that basis and the experience that I had watching Slumdog Millionaire and listening to the soundtrack, I thought it was really good.”
Lyricist Sameer Anjaan however disagrees. “I don’t think we’ve had such a song earlier,” he says. “I don’t think we ever had any song that we thought could go for a global market. But now Naatu Naatu has opened the doors. So now we will try, and we can certainly achieve that,” he asserts.
Ricky Kej explains why many Indian songs don’t make it. “Indian songs, for example, Oo Antava has nothing to do with the film, it’s just an item song. So such songs will never win these international recognitions. Because first of all, they are objectifying women. And the other thing is that it does not fit into the story, it has just been added, for the sake of it, just for promotional purposes. Most of the popular songs this year have been created for the film just for promotional purposes and they’re not actually propelling the narrative of the movie forward. So in this particular case, the reason why I guess the Golden Globes, and the Hollywood foreign press actually selected Naatu Naatu is that it was not only a great song, but it actually propelled the narrative of the film forward,” he says.
How can Indian music get more global exposure?
There is no denying that we need to put in active efforts to put Indian music on the global map. And the fact that Naatu Naatu emerged victorious at Golden Globe Award despite competing with the international biggies is testament that we can do it. “We do lack representation globally,” says Aditya. “I feel like we are already a self-sufficient industry and country by ourselves. So it’s wonderful to get international acclaim but at the same time, that is not the criteria for us to kind of endorse whether what we’re doing is good or not. Representation is less because there is that language barrier. In the English language which is the primary language where all these awards like the Golden Globes or the Grammys or the Oscars are happening, hum us level ka kaam nahi kar rahe hain. Even if we are doing good work, we are not at an international level almost all of the time. When it comes to big filmmakers, big soundtrack, top artists, they are really doing top notch work. I feel like when more Indians venture into producing English films or Hindi subjects presented in an English language or making albums that are predominately in English, it will happen. It’s slow and steady progress. With Naatu Naatu winning at Golden Globes, we can also do whatever we have been doing and make it really good and present it to the world at the same time, we can do it in their language and present it in a manner that they understand and resonate with more. When things like these happen, it’s a stepping stone for everybody who aspires to present their art on an international level. The good part is that their eyes are on us, everyone has their eyes on India and that’s such a wonderful thing.”
Ismail believes we need to ground ourselves and do the work. “If our composers work on their talent, they can bag several awards globally,” he affirms. “The problem is that we get influenced by foreign music. They are good too, but we can do best with our native music. Our Indian music is a treasure trove that we need to explore more. The music companies and the lead actors should also not interfere in the music. The able music directors don’t listen to anyone, only then can something good come out,” he adds.
Sameer agrees we have to continuously work towards achieving the goal. “If Naatu Naatu can get global recognition, why not other songs?,” he asks. “For creators, it’s a very good platform and a very good chance to improve their composition and try to create something different to reach that platform. This win is very good news for the music fraternity. Before this, we could not even imagine we would ever reach over there. We have to go through all the songs that were nominated and understand what type of songs the jury liked. Then we will understand what their taste is like. So at least we can also try to create because saara khel to saat suron ka hi hai.”
Ricky Kej, however, has a different opinion, “I do not think Indian songs are lacking recognition. Indian songs are played everywhere. If it’s about awards, then Indian films are winning Indian awards. Why do they have to win Japanese awards or French awards and things like that? Naatu Naatu was a great example of showcasing that Indian songs can win if they are used properly in the narrative of a film. The music that has been made in movies is fantastic, but the whole purpose of creating this music is basically just to promote the film,” he points out.
“Naatu Naatu winning this award is the beginning of a whole diverse spectrum of new sounds coming from Indian music,” Papon ends on a hopeful note.
