According to recent media sources, Jr. NTR rather than Ram Charan wasn’t prepared to perform live at the 95th Academy Awards.
With his worldwide hit movie RRR, SS Rajamouli has brought honour to India. Its upbeat song “Naatu Naatu,” which stars Ram Charan and Jr. NTR, garnered praise at Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and Golden Globe Awards before winning an Oscar for Best Original Song. Deepika Padukone was seen introducing Naatu Naatu to the crowd and fans at the 95th Academy Awards. Rahul Sipligunj and Kala Bhairava, the song’s original vocalists, then gave a live performance of the song.
Fans were disappointed to learn that the lead couple did not appear at the renowned event, even though everyone was thrilled for the song to win an Oscar. Ram Charan was said to have denied taking the stage, but recent reports seem to indicate otherwise.
If the most recent media report is to be believed, Jr. NTR and not Ram Charan refused appearing on Naatu Naatu on the famous platform. According to the story, NTR chose against attending since he didn’t want any further parallels to be made, even though Charan was really eager to play live.
A source close to them revealed , “Ram Charan was very excited about doing Naatu Naatu live at the Oscars. It was Jr NTR who was reluctant. He cited a lack of time and rehearsals. The truth is, NTR just wasn’t convinced to go and perform on stage with Ram Charan. It was an important event and stars of the stature of Jr NTR and Ram Charan had already received lots of coverage and prominence for the film in USA. NTR Jr didn’t want any more comparisons to be made. So he stayed away from the opportunity to dance for the Oscars.”
Ram Charan previously addressed the speculations that he would refuse to perform at the Oscars at a gathering, dismissing them and stating that he was well prepared to get that call. “However, I’m not sure what went wrong… We didn’t perform as well as the trope did. That is what we have done for numerous interviews. Now is the time for us to unwind.
Even Oscars’ Raj Kapoor said in The Academy interview, “In late February, we were informed that Ram Charan and NT. Rama Rao Jr. would be attending the Oscars, but they did not feel comfortable performing the live number on stage. The change was brought on because of their other professional commitments and the limited amount of time to rehearse.”