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Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy announced Rs 1 crore as prize money to singer Rahul Sipligunj who sang the Oscar winner "Naatu Naatu" song from the Telugu movie RRR. The announcement was made on the occasion of the 'Bonalu' festival on Sunday, July 20.
The Chief Minister noted that Rahul Sipligunj, who comes from the Old City of Hyderabad, got international recognition with the Oscar award for the song from 'RRR'. Revanth Reddy said the singer who came up on his own with hard work is a model for the youth of Telangana.
In May 2023, as the then president of Telangana Pradesh Congress Party, Revanth Reddy had announced Rs 10 lakh reward for Sipligunj on behalf of the Congress party. He had promised that the singer would be honoured with Rs 1 crore prize money after the Congress comes to power, recognising the fame he got for the state through the Oscar-winning song.
At the Gaddar Telangana Film Awards ceremony last month, the Chief Minister mentioned the promise made to Sipligunj and gave an assurance that the state government would soon make an announcement.
'Naatu Naatu' song had bagged the award in the Best Original Song category at the 95th Academy Awards, more popularly known as the Oscars. SS Rajamouli's 'RRR' became the first Indian feature film to win an Oscar. The song is composed by music director MM Keeravaani, and sung by Kala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj, with lyrics by Chandrabose.
Composer, along with lyricist Chandrabose, collected the award.