The song Naatu Naatu from the successful Telugu film RRR has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
The announcement was made by hosts Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams during the nominations presentation on Tuesday.
Jimmy Kimmel will host this year’s ceremony, which will take place on March 12 in Los Angeles.
The song has already won a Golden Globe and a Critics’ Choice Award and has been a favorite at award shows.
It will compete against Lady Gaga and Rihanna, whose songs are also nominated in the same category.
The last time India won an Oscar for film music was in 2009, when composer AR Rahman won Best Original Song and Best Original Score for the song Jai Ho from the film Slumdog Millionaire.
Naatu Naatu has had thousands grooving to its beat, and fans of the song have been hoping for a win since it made the Oscar shortlist in December.
#NTRforOscars trended on Twitter hours before the nominations were announced, as fans expressed their desire for the film to receive an Oscar nomination and win.
Their hopes are high because Naatu Naatu has been named a favorite to win this year’s Oscars by several trade magazines.
In 2021, the four-and-a-half-minute song was shot in front of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s official residence.
The film’s lead actors, Ram Charan and Jr NTR, have inspired viral trends on social media in India and around the world with their energetic dance moves.
At Critics’ Choice, India’s RRR is named best foreign film.
Following the film’s loss as India’s official entry to the Oscars to Gujarati-language film Chello Show, RRR director SS Rajamouli launched an intensive publicity campaign last year and submitted the film for nominations in 14 categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.