India has won an Oscar, and the Telugu film industry is brimming with pride as two film technicians have received the world's most prestigious award. This is undoubtedly a proud moment for all involved.
To win an Oscar, it is imperative to aggressively promote the film in Hollywood circles to influence critics, media, and ultimately the members of the Academy Awards. This requires a significant financial investment as nothing comes for free in the USA. Rajamouli and his team did just that, and the outcome was successful. However, the question remains, was it a positive outcome for everyone involved in the film? Recent revelations shed light on how it all began.
Initially, Rajamouli proposed to Danayya, Ram Charan, and NTR to share Rs 25 Cr each for the Oscar promotions. He hoped to receive at least one award or nomination among the Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor categories. He suggested that they should put in their efforts collectively and be happy for whoever gets the award.
Danayya, however, flatly refused the proposal, stating that he did not make any significant profit with RRR and could not spend such an amount on an award. Nevertheless, Ram Charan and NTR agreed, putting their trust in Rajamouli.
As Danayya refused the proposal, he was entirely ignored, and the banner name Variance, an American company, was used instead. In fact, Variance did all the liaisoning for RRR Oscar promotions with the inputs of Rajamouli and Karthikeya. Thus, Danayya was excluded from the picture from day one itself.
After a long struggle, the film received only a single nomination under "Best Original Song." This left NTR feeling dejected, as he felt that his share of money had been wasted. Rajamouli was half happy that at least his brother Keeravani had been nominated.
Ram Charan, however, decided to pitch himself in a big way in Hollywood, not wasting his money. With the moral support of his wife Upasana, he is moving ahead. Very soon, he will be meeting Narendra Modi along with Upasana in his position as an RRR star, the film that brought an Oscar to India in a category that did not belong to him. In fact, he danced for the song that turned viral globally. But mind it - he is not going to meet Prime Minister Modi with his dancing partner NTR, but with his life partner Upasana.
The bottom line is that it was the money of Rajamouli, Ram Charan, and NTR that brought the awards to Keeravani and Chandrabose.