Music composer MM Keeravaani won global recognition with the song Naatu Naatu from SS Rajamouli’s RRR won him a Golden Globe and an Oscar. Picturised on the film’s lead actors Jr NTR and Ram Charan, the song was a massive hit upon its release in India, gaining the film’s team love from across the world once it was released on Netflix.

‘A song which is not my best’

However, even as the country seemed over the moon since the song won international awards, music composer Keeravaani has always maintained a level-headedness about it all. He even went as far as calling the song not his ‘best’ work.

Talking to Indian Express, when asked if he feels he got the recognition he deserves too late, he replied, “See, late or early, the global recognition has come to a song which is not my best. That much I can say. But, when the recognition has to come, it will come somehow, from any corner. But late? Sometimes you feel it’s late because your lifespan is fixated, that’s how it is termed as late or early, when your life span is not fixated, it comes when it has to come.”

‘I wasn’t even excited’

After returning to India from the Oscar win, Keeravaani admitted that he wasn’t even ‘excited’ about the number winning Best Original Song. He credited the late Ramoji Rao for giving him the drive to bring it come.

He said at an event, “I was initially not excited about being nominated for the Oscar. But, when I met Ramoji Rao, he told me to bring the award home. I thought, if he is giving such importance to the Oscars, I have to win it. I felt like the award had value then and even was nervous the few seconds before they announced the award. Not for me, for him.”

Upcoming work

Keeravaani, who’s credited as MM Kreem in Hindi, has composed the music for Ajay Devgn, Tabu-starrer Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha and is working on Anupam Kher-starrer Tanvi The Great. In Telugu, he’s composing the tunes for Chiranjeevi-starrer Vishwambhara and Pawan Kalyan-starrer Hari Hara Veera Mallu.