The 95th Academy Awards ceremony saw a controversial comment made by the show's host, Jimmy Kimmel, as he referred to RRR as a 'Bollywood movie'. As he announced the first award category, he was seen being escorted away by dancers who performed Naatu Naatu on stage. Jimmy stated, instead of playing the winners offstage during the 95th Academy Awards, a group of performers from the movie RRR will be dancing them offstage. Later, he also referred to the SS Rajamouli directorial as a 'Bollywood movie'. This sparked outrage on social media, with many calling out the misrepresentation of the Telugu language film as a Bollywood movie.
A fan shared a video of the comment on Twitter, with many expressing their displeasure at the mislabeling of the film. Several users criticized Jimmy for not doing proper research before making such a comment. However, the performance of the song Naatu Naatu received a standing ovation from the audience, including actor Deepika Padukone, who introduced the song.
In response to Jimmy's remark, a social media user expressed their discontent by stating, "It's barely been 15 minutes, and Jimmy Kimmel has already referred to RRR as a Bollywood film. Ugh." Another user on Twitter criticized Jimmy's statement and stated, "Jimmy Kimmel calling RRR a Bollywood movie is the final straw for me. How can someone be so incompetent? It's unbearable." A tweet also mentioned, "I don't want to hear Jimmy Kimmel incorrectly label RRR as a Bollywood film."
RRR stars Ram Charan, Jr NTR, Shriya Saran, Alia Bhatt, and Ajay Devgn, among others. The film tells a fictional story based on the lives of two Telugu freedom fighters; Alluri Seetharama Raju and Komaram Bheem, with Ram Charan and Jr NTR playing the lead roles. The film collected over ₹1,200 crore worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing Indian films.
The song Naatu Naatu, composed by MM Keeravaani and written by Chandrabose, won the Oscar for Original Song, beating out competition from Rihanna and Lady Gaga. Singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, along with composer MM Keeravani and lyricist Chandrabose, were present to accept the award on behalf of the team. This marked a historic moment as it was the first Telugu song to be nominated in the 'Original Song' category at the Oscars.
