Dance sequences to Indian Film Industry are what action sequences are to Hollywood. It’s that ultimate climax that the whole movie is building toward whether you punch the big bad guy or dance it off (looking at you, Star-Lord). One dance number that took the world by surprise last year was "Naatu Naatu" from SS Rajamouli’s RRR. Ram Charan and Jr NTR’s moves inspired a plethora of fans to recreate their own on various social media platforms. The number is also nominated for best original song Oscar and will be performed at the Academy Awards ceremony. In a recent chat with Vanity Fair, the director explained how the dance number doubles as an action sequence in the movie.
Rajamouli gives much credit to choreographer Prem Rakshit, who has worked previously with the director, Charan, and Jr NTR on separate occasions. He has choreographed some of the chart-topping hits for both actors. “He knows their style, exactly what their body language is. He exactly knows what their fans expect out of them,” Rajamouli says. Further, revealing that Rakshit had a very difficult job with "Naatu Naatu" “because both the actors have to dance together, each of them has their own style, but he has to find a style which will suit both of them.” The director wanted a dancing style that won’t be complicated "because I also wanted him to figure out steps that people would like to do for themselves." So the steps had to be "nice, not too difficult, and it should suit the style of both actors.”
The director reveals that the idea for suspender steps came from the costumes. He said, “The costume designer Rama, who also happens to be my wife. She didn’t give costumes for a song because it was supposed to be a scene.” So when Rakshit saw the costumes and suspenders, “he asked ‘can I use the suspenders?’ He then composed a couple of steps,” hence the hook steps came to be. Rajamouli reveals that the actors had loose suspenders only for the particular shot not before and after, so when Jenny (Olivia Morris) pulls the suspenders, they were tight (ouch!) leaving both of them a little scarred.
"Naatu Naatu" is an Action Dance Sequence
He reveals that his further instructions to the choreographer were “for the audience it’s a song: this is fun, they’re dancing and everything. But for the story, it is actually a fight scene.” He elaborates, “Because it starts off on a bad note as they were humiliated. Both of them had a purpose, they cannot really (engage in) fistfights and blow their cover. It moves into a kind of competition.” He sums it up, “So, you’re seeing a song and a dance but in effect, you’re getting the emotion of a fight. So, the body movements, the frame is like an action sequence.” Rajamuoli thinks "Naatu Naatu" is such a hit “not just because of the music, or the dance but because there is a beautiful story in itself. The entire story of RRR is within that 10 minutes of ‘Naatu Naatu's lead scene and its completion.”
RRR is streaming on Netflix. You can watch Rajamouli break down the scene below: