Adnan Sami has received criticism for his tweet about Naatu Naatu’s Oscar win, in which he referred to YS Jagan Mohan Reddy as a “regionally minded frog in a pond.”
Naatu Naatu’s Oscar win
Naatu Naatu, from SS Rajamouli’s RRR, won the Academy Award for best original song, and playback singer Adnan Sami was criticised for calling Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy a “regionally minded frog in a pond” in a tweet of congratulations.
Increased height of the #Telugu flag! Seeing a Telugu song that so beautifully honours our folk heritage receive international recognition today fills me with pride. They have set a new standard for excellence: @ssrajamouli, @tarak9999, @AlwaysRamCharan, and @mmkeeravaani. Thank you for your hard work, and please extend my best wishes to @ssrajamouli, @tarak9999, @AlwaysRamCharan, @mmkeeravaani, @boselyricist, #PremRakshit, @kaalabhairava7, @Rahulsipligunj, and the rest of the team behind @RRRMovie. In the words of the billions of Telugu speakers around the world and the entire population of India, “thank you for giving us all reason to be proud.” To share his happiness, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy took to Twitter.
Adnan, who was unimpressed, tweeted, “What a regionally minded frog in a pond who can’t think about the ocean because it’s beyond his tiny nose!! How dare you sow discord between different parts of the country and refuse to celebrate or promote national pride!
“Jai HIND!!”
People all over the internet were outraged, and the singer got blasted for it. After receiving backlash, Adnan clarified his stance and tweeted, “My issue has never been about the language. The problem I’ve been having is very elementary… All languages, regardless of their origin & dialect are ultimately under the one umbrella of being INDIAN FIRST & then anything else- That’s all! I’ve sung countless songs in a variety of local languages, treating each with the same level of dedication and appreciation.
When Naatu Naatu won the Golden Globe Award in January, Adnan called out YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for a similar tweet. A tweet from the chief minister asking, “Telugu flag? You mean INDIAN flag right? Please stop isolating yourself from the rest of India and recognise that we Indians come first. Especially internationally, we are one country! We saw the devastating effects of this “separatist” mentality firsthand in 1947!!! Thanks a bunch… Jai HIND!
Naatu Naatu is the first song from an Indian film to earn a nomination and win in the best original song category. Previously, in 2009, a British production, Slumdog Millionaire, won an Oscar for the Indian composer A.R. Rahman’s score, Jai Ho.
