On January 10 (local time), the film RRR’s song Naatu Naatu won the Best Original Song trophy at Golden Globes 2023. Interestingly, the song was shot at the Mariinsky Palace, the Presidential Palace of Ukraine located in Kyiv. The shooting took place in August 2021 as a part of the final shooting schedule in Ukraine. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially resides in the palace.
Notably, the song was shot only a few months before Russia initiated military action against Ukraine. The Telegu song Naatu Naatu was composed by MM Keeravani, and the lyrics were written by Chandrabose. Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava gave voice to the song. The lyrical version of the song was released on November 10, 2021.
In an interview with Gulte.com, RRR director said, “We shot the Naatu Naatu song in Ukraine. It is a real location. Actually, it is the Ukrainian President’s palace. There is a parliament right beside the palace. Luckily, they gave us permission to shoot because the Ukrainian president was a television actor. The funny thing is that he acted as the President in a TV series before becoming the President.”
Earlier in 2022, Ram Charan, who played the lead in the film RRR along with Jr NTR, Olivia Morris and Alia Bhatt, was in the news after a Ukrainian soldier mentioned him in a video. In the video, the soldier said he was a personal security member for Ram Charan in Kyiv. He added that Ram Charan helped him and sent money for his wife.
#RamCharan has helped a security officer in Kyiv, Ukraine, who previously operated as his personal security member during #RRR’s shoot in Ukrainian @AlwaysRamCharan pic.twitter.com/kAi4OmmIZd
— BA Raju’s Team (@baraju_SuperHit) March 19, 2022
The Russia-Ukraine war
On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced full-scale military action against Ukraine. Since then, the two countries have been fighting head-on. Following Russia’s invasion of the neighbouring country, several sanctions were imposed by the United States, Europe and other Western countries. The war has adversely affected the economy worldwide, especially in the countries that relied on Russian gas and fuel.
