Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/MUMBAI: Dancing with their viral video rendition of the Oscar-nominated song “Naatu Naatu,” South Korean diplomat captivated the hearts of millions of Indians, boosting Seoul’s soft power diplomacy and even receiving the nod of approval from the Indian prime minister.
In a video clip released on Twitter, officials from the embassy of South Korea in India’s capital New Delhi – many wearing traditional dress from both countries – could be seen dancing to the popular song from the Telugu movie “RRR.”
The 53-second video, which stars South Korean Ambassador Chang Jae-bok, has amassed over 4 million views on Twitter as of Tuesday and has received a lot of appreciation in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on Twitter, “Lively and charming team effort.”
Author Kulpreet Yadav remarked, “Love you for this!” At the same time, Bhargav Mitra, another admirer of the video, called it “an outstanding endeavor. An appropriate homage to the two-way relationship. How well a song and dance sequence can come together,” he tweeted.
Korean Ambassador Chang Jae-bok dances on Naatu Naatu along with her embassy staff.
— News Arena India (@NewsArenaIndia) February 26, 2023
The excellent reaction to the video in India reflects the rising appeal of South Korean culture there, where millions have recently become fans of K-pop and K-dramas.
Indians are expanding their presence in South Korea’s entertainment sector. When she joined the girl group Blackswan last year, singer Shreya Lenka made history as India’s first native K-pop star. At the same time, Indian actor Anupam Tripathy participated in the critically acclaimed South Korean Netflix series “Squid Game.”
M M Keeravani has composed “Naatu Naatu,” which translates to “dance,” with lyrics by Chandra bose.
Appreciated for its buoyant choreography and catchy tune, “Naatu Naatu” won India’s first-ever Golden Globe in last month’s best original song category. It is the favorite to win the best original song on March 12 at the 95th Academy Awards.
The original song features Telugu superstars N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Jr NTR, famous for his dance perfectly synchronized to the lyrics, and Ram Charan. The video has over 122 million views on YouTube.
The Indian film industry makes tens of thousands of movies annually in multiple languages, and “RRR,” which stands for Rise Roar Revolt, is the fourth-highest-grossing picture in the country, according to IMDb, earning nearly $155 million globally.
It is based on the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule and was last June’s most-watched non-English film on Netflix.
