'RRR' bags two Golden Globe nominations, Rajamouli thanks jury
New Delhi, Dec 12: SS Rajamouli's period action film "RRR" has scooped nominations in two categories at the upcoming Golden Globe Awards -- Best Picture - Non-English and Best Original Song - Motion Picture.
Rajamouli thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which conducts the Golden Globe Awards, for recognising the movie.
The HFPA has nominated "RRR" in the Best Picture - Non-English and Best Original Song - Motion Picture categories. It shared the announcement on the official website of the Golden Globes on Monday evening.
"RRR" follows a pre-Independence fictional story woven around two real-life Indian revolutionaries -- Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem -- in the 1920s.
Starring Ram Charan and Jr NTR in the lead, the film released worldwide in March in five languages -- Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi. It also stars Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn in key roles.
A pan-India blockbuster, "RRR" will face off with Korean romantic mystery "Decision To Leave", German anti-war drama "All Quiet on the Western Front", Argentine historical drama "Argentina, 1985", and French-Dutch coming-of-age drama "Close" in the Best Picture - Non-English segment, formerly called foreign language film category.
Telugu track "Naatu Naatu", composed by veteran music director MM Keeravaani and penned by Kala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj for the film, has been nominated in the Original Song - Motion Picture category.
Other nominees in the segment are Taylor Swift's "Carolina" ("Where The Crawdads Sing"); "Ciao Papa" ("Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio") which has music by Alexandre Desplat and lyrics by Roeban Katz and del Toro; "Hold My Hand" from "Top Gun: Maverick", a collaboration between Lady Gaga, BloodPop and Benjamin Rice; and "Lift Me Up" from "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler, and Ludwig Goransson.
Taking to Twitter, Rajamouli expressed his gratitude towards the jury and thanked viewers for their unwavering support.
"Thanks to the jury at @goldenglobes for nominating #RRRMovie in two categories. Congratulations to the entire team...
"Thanks to all the fans and audience for your unconditional love and support through out," the filmmaker wrote.
In a statement shared on the official Twitter page of "RRR", the makers of the film said, "We are very grateful to share that #RRRMovie made it to the nominations of #GoldenGlobes for the Best Picture - Non-English Language & the Best Original Song."
Jr NTR said he is happy that the film has received two nods at the Golden Globe Awards, the precursor to the Oscars.
"Delighted that #RRRMovie has been nominated in two categories at the Golden Globe Awards! Congratulations to all of us... Looking forward," the actor tweeted.
Bhatt shared the news of the twin nominations for "RRR" on her Instagram Stories accompanied by heart emoticons.
"RRR", which emerged as a massive box office success even overseas with reported earnings of Rs 1,200 crore, has been praised for Rajamouli's grand vision, high-octane fight sequences and Keeravaani's rousing musical soundtrack.
The film received rave reviews from the who's who of Hollywood including filmmakers Russo Brothers ("The Gray Man"), Edgar Wright ("Baby Driver"), Scott Derrickson ("Doctor Strange") and "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise director James Gunn.
Rajamouli, who has attained global recognition post the success of the film, was recently declared the runner-up in the Best Director category by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LACFA). Keeravaani received LACFA's Best Music Score award.
Rajamouli previously won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director.
One of the most successful Indian films of the year, "RRR" was a frontrunner in the race for representing India at the Academy Awards next year in the Best International Film category, but "Chhello Show" (Last Film Show), a Gujarati film directed by Pan Nalin, was eventually selected as India's official entry to the 2023 Oscars.
In October, the makers of "RRR" had announced they had sent an application to the Academy of Oscars for consideration in the general category.
The ceremony for Golden Globe Awards will be held in Los Angeles on January 10.
In 2009, music maestro A R Rahman became the first Indian to win the Golden Globe for Best Original Music Score for Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire".
Previously, Indian films such as "Salaam Bombay!" (1988) and "Monsoon Wedding" (2001), both directed by Mira Nair, were nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
Thanks to the jury at @goldenglobes for nominating #RRRMovie in two categories. Congratulations to the entire team…
— rajamouli ss (@ssrajamouli) December 12, 2022
Thanks to all the fans and audience for your unconditional love and support through out. 🤗🤗🤗
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8 children between ages of 1 and 14 dead after mass shooting in Louisiana, police say
Shreveport(US) (AP): A gunman in Louisiana killed eight children in shootings at two different homes early Sunday in the nation's deadliest mass shooting in more than two years, police in Shreveport said.
The victims ranged in age from one to about 14 years old, said Shreveport police spokesperson Chris Bordelon. A total of 10 were shot and some of the children were related to the suspect, Bordelon said.
The gunman later died after a chase with officers who fired at the suspect, Bordelon said. The suspect stole a car while leaving the scene of the shootings and was followed by police, according to Bordelon.
Police did not release the name of the suspect but did say he was an adult male. The shootings were the result of a “domestic disturbance,” Bordelon said.
Officials said they were still gathering details at the crime scenes south of downtown Shreveport — the two homes and a third location.
“This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” he said.
It was the deadliest mass shooting in the US since eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb in January 2024, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
At a news conference outside the residence where one of the shootings occurred, officials appeared stunned, requesting patience and prayers from the community as they sorted through multiple crime scenes.
“I just don't know what to say, my heart is just taken aback,” Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said. “I cannot begin to imagine how such an event could occur.”
“This is a tragic situation — maybe the worst tragic situation we've ever had,” said Tom Arceneaux, mayor of the city in northwestern Louisiana with about 180,000 residents. “It's a terrible morning.”
Louisiana State Police say their detectives have been asked by Shreveport police to investigate. In a statement, state police say no officers were harmed in the shooting that involved an officer after a police pursuit into Bossier City on Sunday morning.
State police are asking anyone with pictures, video or information to share it with state police detectives.
Louisiana Gov Jeff Landry said in a statement that he and his wife were heartbroken. “We're deeply grateful to the law enforcement officers and first responders working tirelessly on the scene,” he added.
