Filmmaker Gannett Monga was criticized from all angles when he wasn’t given the chance to speak on the Oscar stage after his award-winning documentary Elephant Whisperers. But what many didn’t realize was that even Chandra Bose, who wrote the lyrics, natu natu Oscar in the Original Song category was unable to speak for more than a second after composer MM Keeravani delivered his acceptance speech. But the lyricist is “no complaints.”
If it’s a stage like that, even a moment is fine. “Keeravani sir was given 45 seconds but he could only speak for 30 seconds and the music started playing. ’ alone was enough to make history,” says Chandra Bose.
“I know that winning an Oscar is enough, but for me words are my treasure and my strength. That’s why I always say you don’t need time to make history, one second is enough,” he adds.
But Chandra Bose never dreamed that his song would bring such honor to India. “I approached this song with the same complete honesty and dedication as I do with my other songs.” But what set it apart was the fact that it had a “local flavor.” .Chandrabose said: Straight from the heart. And because it incorporated elements of our culture, people in the West found it fresh. I believe that is the definition of art. It’s about bringing local culture to the world stage… disseminating our art through international platforms. ”
And today, the famous lyricist is very happy that the song has become “Mantra Uchchaalan-chant” for people. “Chinese, Americans, Japanese, they all dance without knowing the lyrics. Everyone is connected to the rhyming of words, to the sounds, to their phonetics,” he beams with glee.
But this journey to reach the Oscar stage is nothing more than a “Pariksha” sent to him by the Almighty. Reflecting on that magical moment, he recalls: I just wrote him 90% of the song in 45 minutes and went to (filmmaker) SS Rajamouli sir for his approval. He liked it and gave it to Lord Keeravani to work on the composition. Keeravani worked on it for a long time because sometimes the lyrics didn’t fit the song and other times he had to change the song to keep the lyrics. After several versions and discussions, the first song composed by Keeravani sir was rocked. ”
Once the song was recorded and the team went to Ukraine to shoot, Chandra Bose also moved on to another project. “I was working on Pushpa in Chennai when I got a call from Lord Rajamouli. He was not happy and said he wanted to change the last lap. Bandreddy Sukumar took a 20 minute break to work on the rap.I wrote another version of it which was immediately accepted by the team.They recorded it. , continued filming, that was the last revision I made to this song natu natu”
Before concluding, he said: Over the past 19 months, I have felt frustrated and frustrated that I had to constantly work to make changes, even for a moment. In fact, if he (Rajamouli) asked me for one change, I would give him three choices. ”
