Oscars 2023: MM Keeravani’s ‘Naatu Naatu’ soundtrack was awarded Best Original Song at the ongoing 95th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, United States.
Naatu Naatu wins Oscars 2023! And the time has come for which we have all been waiting. The Oscars 2023 have been decided, and Naatu Naatu has won! The song made history when it won the Best Song award for the first time ever, coming from an Indian movie.
India, it’s time to go ‘Naatu Naatu!’ RRR, directed by SS Rajamouli, made history by becoming the first Indian feature film to win an Oscar.
A historic and proud moment for India.
Heartiest Congratulations to the entire team of #RRRMovie as #NaatuNaatu wins the Oscar for the Best Original Song.@RRRMovie pic.twitter.com/BwfchOFIin
— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) March 13, 2023
Who is MM Keeravani?
MM Keeravani was born in a Telugu family in Kovvur, West Godavri district, Andhra Pradesh, to lyricist and screenwriter Koduri Siva Shakthi Datta. He is the cousin of SS Rajamouli. Kalyani Malik, MM Keeravani’s brother, is also a music director and singer. He is also the nephew of screenwriter and director KV Vijayendra Prasad of Telugu and Bollywood films.
His wife, MM Srivalli, is a film line producer.
In 1987, MM Keeravani began working as an assistant music director alongside Malayalam composer C Rajamani and Telugu composer K Chakravarthy. His first big break as an independent music composer, however, came in 1990, with the film Kalki. However, the film was never released, and all of the songs went unnoticed.
The same year, Telugu film director Mouli’s film Manasu Mamatha was released, bringing MM Keeravani to the forefront and considered his first released film. But Keeravani rose to prominence with Ram Gopal Varma’s blockbuster film Kshana Kshanam (1991), which established him as a music director to watch. All of the movie’s songs were chartbusters, and Keeravani was inundated with offers from various producers and directors.
Keeravani has a successful career as a playback singer in addition to composing for films. Among her many singing credits are ‘Janani’ and ‘Etthara Jenda’ from ‘RRR,’ ‘Dheera Dheera Dheera’ from the 2009 film ‘Magadheera,’ ‘Sahore Bahubali’ from ‘Baahubali 2’, and many more.
Both of his sons are involved in the entertainment industry. His elder son, Kaala Bhairava, is a well-known Telugu singer-music director. Sri Simha, his younger son, is an actor.
MM Keeravani’s Bollywood Break:
Keeravani’s big break in the Hindi film industry came in 1994, when she worked with Mahesh Bhatt. Bhatt, who was directing movies at the time, had heard Keeravani’s music and wanted to collaborate with him.
They collaborated on the film Criminal (1994), and Keeravani’s first hit Hindi song was Tu Mile Dil Khile, sung by Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik. Despite some creative differences between Kumar Sanu and MM Keeravani while recording the song, the two came to an agreement and the song was completed.
Aside from Bollywood albums, Keeravani is also responsible for solo songs in Hindi films. Mujhe Mein Tu Tu Hi Tu Basa was written for Neeraj Pandey’s film Special 26 (2013), and Main Tujhe Pyar Nahi Karta was written for Baby (2014).
