Indian cinema has a new, gleaming feather to its cap - an Oscar for Naatu Naatu - the song that has become a blockbuster! The song just won an Oscar for the Best Original Song at the 95th Academy Awards, and became a runaway hit as soon as the movie released. The song location, of course, loomed gloriously in the backdrop as the cast danced, grabbing quite some attention.
Did you know that Ukraine's Mariinskyi Palace is the beautiful building that stands as the perfect backdrop for this song? In fact, the song was shot shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine! The palace is also the official home to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. RRR director SS Rajamouli, when talking about how they got permission for filming at the palace, shared that “Luckily, they gave us permission to shoot because the Ukrainian president was a television actor.”
The palace was built in 1744 by architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli at the behest of Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna and is a sight to behold. It was majorly gutted in a series of fires and was in a state of absolute disrepair for almost 50 years.
Other than the song, a couple of scenes were also shot in the now war-torn city of Kyiv in Ukraine. Reportedly, a number of local crew members for the city have now taken up arms in the resistance against Russia.
