Jimmy Kimmel makes RRR Bollywood blunder at Oscars

RRR was a winner at this year’s Academy Awards – taking home the Oscar for Best Original Song. At that same ceremony however, host Jimmy Kimmel mistakenly mischaracterized the film’s origin, which caused some consternation in India.

Trailblazing action epic RRR has been breaking box office records since its release, becoming a hit with critics and audiences alike.

The Telugu-language movie tells a fictitious story about two real-life figures, imagining what would have happened if revolutionaries Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem had met and collaborated before fighting for their country.

The musical movie holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of 95%, made it onto our list of 2022’s best movies, and is now an Academy Award winner.

What did RRR win at the Academy Awards?

RRR won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, with composer M.M. Keeravaani accepting the award for the brilliant ‘Naatu Naatu.’

He sang some Carpenters during his speech. Then according to The Hollywood Reporter, said this backstage: “I feel very blessed to have this kind of greatest recognition of the world for my country, for my culture, my motherland, my movie industry. I feel this is just the beginning of everything, so that the rest of the world focuses more on Indian music, which is long due.”

Star Ram Charan then put out a statement regarding the win, saying: “This award belongs to every Indian actor, technician and film goer. My heartfelt thanks to all the fans across the world for all the love and support. This is our country’s win.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi even Tweeted his support, writing: “Exceptional! The popularity of ‘Naatu Naatu’ is global. It will be a song that will be remembered for years to come… India is elated and proud.”

Jimmy Kimmel blundered by calling RRR a Bollywood movie. That’s incorrect as RRR is an Indian movie in the Telugu language, and had been promoted as such during its theatrical run, and Oscar campaign.

So rather than being a Bollywood film – which refers to Hindi-language movies mostly made in Mumbai – RRR is a Tollywood film, produced in the South.

Of the fallout from the mistake, THR explains: “The conflation of two drastically different ethnic identities and cultures sparked umbrage in India, with many RRR fans taking to Twitter to express their disappointment.”

Check out another weird Jimmy Kimmel moment here, while full list of winners can be found here.