Naatu Naatu: German embassy staff dance to Oscar-winning Indian song
‘Germans can’t dance? Me and my Indo-German team celebrated Naatu Naatu’s victory at #Oscar95 in Old Delhi’
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Your support makes all the difference.The hit Oscar-winning Indian song Naatu Naatu has new fans in the German embassy staff.
On Sunday, German ambassador to India and Bhutan, Dr Philipp Ackermann, tweeted a video of himself and others from the embassy dancing to the fast-paced number from the Telugu language film RRR.
“Germans can’t dance? Me & my Indo-German team celebrated #NaatuNaatu’s victory at #Oscar95 in Old Delhi. Ok, far from perfect. But fun! Thanks @rokEmbIndia for inspiring us. Congratulations & welcome back @alwaysRamCharan & @RRRMovie team! #embassychallange is open. Who’s next?” he tweeted.
The video was shot in the old part of capital Delhi, reknowned for the Jama mosque, Mughal-era architechture, narrow bylanes, and street food. Dr Ackermann is seen wearing ethnic Indian clothes in the video.
The German embassy’s dance number came on the heels of a similar video posted by its South Korean counterpart in February in which employees were seen grooving to the multiple award-winning song.
South Korean ambassador Chang Jae-bok and other employees danced to the song in a video shared by the embassy’s Twitter page with the caption: “Do you know Naatu? We are happy to share with you the Korean Ambassador Chang Jae-bok along with the embassy staff Naatu Naatu!!”
The breakout hit won the Academy Award for best original song at the Oscars ceremony last week. The song has spawned a TikTok challenge and has millions of views on YouTube.
Indians had won Oscars previously, but no Indian film had won an Academy Award. RRR and The Elephant Whisperers – which won best documentary short film – gave the country two Oscar-winning films in one night.
Television showed images of people dancing to the song in the streets, minutes after the award was announced, even as #NaatuNaatu was a top trend on Twitter.
“The popularity of ‘Naatu Naatu’ is global. It will be a song that will be remembered for years to come,” Indian prime minister Narendra Modi had posted on Twitter, congratulating the team behind the song.
In the film directed by SS Rajamouli, Naatu Naatu begins when the two leads, played by Ram Charan and NT Rama Rao Jr, flaunt their dance skills after being bullied as the only Indian people invited to a British party in colonial times.
When a young British man aims racist insults at the leads, they decide to educate him using the song. The scene was filmed at Ukraine’s grand Mariinskyi Palace.
The Elephant Whisperers is about a couple in South India who adopt a baby elephant and care for him.
(Additional reporting by Reuters)
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