Golden Globe winner RRR is a family affairrr, from SS Rajamouli to Ram Charan and Jr NTR

With RRR picking up a Golden Globe for Best Original Song (Naatu Naatu) and still trending heavily on a global scale, it is interesting to note how director SS Rajamouli’s grand vision is a collective effort of not just his crew but even his own family members. 

RRR is written by Rajamouli’s father: While Rajamouli himself penned the screenplay, his father KV Vijayendra Prasad developed the story. The 81-year-old writer is considered a veteran writer in Telugu cinema, also having written Rajamouli’s two Baahubali films. He has also dabbled in Hindi cinema, having won a Filmfare for Best Story for Salman Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan. 

Naatu Naatu is composed by Rajamouli’s cousin and sung by his nephew: MM Keeravani just attained international recognition as he picked up the Globe on January 11 (even though his acceptance speech was sadly interrupted). Active in the Telugu film industry since 1989, Keeravani has scored all of Rajamouli’s iconic films such as Baahubali, Eega, and Magadheera with the director being his cousin. 

In fact, Keeravani’s own son and frequent collaborator Kaala Bhairava also provides the vocals on Naatu Naatu. 

The stars of RRR all come from influential film dynasties: As is common in the Telugu film industry, RRR’s leading men Ram Charan and Jr NTR both come from major industry families. Charan is the son of Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi and the grandson of the late character actor-comedian-producer Allu Ramalingaiah. With actor-politician Pawan Kalyan being his uncle and Pushpa star Allu Arjun being his cousin, Charan’s family members have dominated the industry for years. The family is known as Mega family, after Megastar Chiranjeevi. In the Telugu land they are famous as the Allu-Konidela family.

Similarly, Jr NTR carries his name from his iconic grandfather NT Rama Rao Sr, the Telugu matinee idol and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. His father is Nandamuri Harikrishna, another actor-turned-politician who also served as a Rajya Sabha MP from 2008 to 2013. His uncle Nandamuri Balakrishna is a famous actor and politician. His brother Nandamuri Kalyan Ram is a Telugu actor.

Alia Bhatt also features in a supporting role in RRR, coming from the Bhatt family that is most prominently known for Alia’s father and director Mahesh Bhatt. Her mother is veteran actor Soni Razdan and her uncle is film producer Mukesh Bhatt. Pooja Bhatt, the actor-director, is her half-sister. Actor Emraan Hashmi and director Mohit Suri are Alia's cousins. And now, Alia's husband is Ranbir Kapoor, who belongs to the OG family in Bollywood: The Kapoors.

RRR made history today as it became the first Indian film to win a Best Original Song award at the Golden Globes. With the Golden Globe win, RRR's Oscars 2023 chances just got a little easier. The film was not sent to the Oscars as India's official entry in the Best International Film criteria; instead, the Gujarati film Chhello Show was sent.

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