Exclusive| Naatu Naatu choreographer Prem Rakshith on Oscar nomination: ‘I was so happy and surprised’

Prem Rakshith has been part of the Telugu film industry for several years now and has worked in films such as Acharya, Baahubali, Rangasthalam, Arya 2, Kantri among others. Rakshith says that while he has worked on so many films, it is RRR that has made his work global and for this, he has immense gratitude towards SS Rajamouli.

“I have done more than 1000 songs but those songs never went to Oscars. Because of this movie (RRR), it went there. Otherwise, I can’t imagine going there. It is because RRR is so good and the way it is presented that everyone has enjoyed the movie and the song. I am so thankful to Rajamouli sir. This is his vision and his hard work,” says Rakshith, who adds, “I am also thankful to my family. I left them for three-four months and worked hard. They also let me go and do my work.”

The choreographer, who is currently working on Allu Arjun’s Pushpa: The Rule, is hoping for an Oscar. He shares, “I just believe in Sai baba and I believe it will happen. The audience around the world accepted the song, so I hope that the Oscar will come here.”

In an earlier interview with Indianexpress.com, Prem Rakshith revealed that he worked on over 100 hook-steps for “Naatu Naatu”. He said, “I came up with more than 118 steps for this song. Usually, per song, we come up with 2-3 steps but we were going ahead and making so many steps.”

Rakshith also shared his experience of working with Jr NTR and Ram Charan for the Oscar nominated song. “They are both good dancers but the difficult thing was their style. They both had to be synchronized and I didn’t know how to do that. We developed it all from zero. They had to match and that means that I had to give something new, which is perfect for both of them. I couldn’t give steps which only Charan sir would dance to and Tarak sir won’t.”