RRR's Best Picture Snub Has Fans Seeing Red
The race for Best Picture at the 95th Academy Awards is going to be a close one — even though some audiences' favorite film of the year is already out of contention. As announced this morning, the category boasts a wide array of films, including the absurdist-sci-fi hit "Everything Everywhere All at Once," the blockbuster requel "Top Gun: Maverick," and Steven Spielberg's "The Fablemans." Noticeably absent, however, was one of the best action films of 2022 — India's epic action film "RRR."
Unfortunately, because of its status as a foreign language feature, "RRR's" path to an Oscar nomination was far more complicated than its peers. Every year, the Film Federation of India (FFI) is allowed to submit a single film for consideration in the Best International Feature Film category. Rather than choosing the buzzy "RRR," however, the FFI instead championed the coming-of-age drama "Chhello Show" or "Last Film Show" (it was shortlisted but ultimately not selected for nomination). IndieWire opined that "RRR" was not selected due to the FFI's penchant for ignoring popular demand, as well as films that prominently feature the "cultural specificity" of Tollywood's distinct style (an example of this would be "RRR's" award-winning dance number "Naatu Naatu").
As a result, "RRR" could exclusively vie for a Best Picture nomination. In 2020, Bong Joon-ho's disturbingly hilarious class drama "Parasite" broke ground as the first international film to take home the top prize, arguably opening the door for more films from around the world to receive the same due recognition. While Germany's "All Quiet on the Western Front" broke through this same barrier, the same cannot be said for "RRR" — much to the dismay of its many, many fans.
Fans mourn RRR's absence
In the mentions of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' official Twitter announcement of the nominees, news editor Steve Laxton simply responded with a screengrab of "RRR's" poster. Writer-director Luis Endera ("Pyramiden") wrote, "I miss #RRR."
"RRR was robbed," wrote @Brassylassy, "So sad no Best Film nomination. Will win Best Song though for definite." As mentioned above, one of the film's most exhilarating scenes is an explosively cathartic dance number choreographed to a pulse-pounding original song called "Naatu Naatu" ("Dance Dance"). The song has been nominated for several awards this season and has already taken home both a Critics' Choice award and a Golden Globe.
While "RRR" has more than a fair shot at taking home the Oscar for Best Original Song, fans are still shocked it isn't being considered for Best Picture. "I thought RRR was a surefire," wrote @GemBiscuits. The mourning continued throughout several tweets, with @constantane noting that Park Chan-wook's critically acclaimed thriller "Decision to Leave" was also overlooked by the Academy.