The Naatu Naatu fever refuses to die down. Last Thursday, when the Australian consulate general formally opened in the city, it was the Oscar-winning song from RRR that was performed on stage by the troupe Caper Maniac Crew. And witnessing the pulsating moves were Australian assistant minister of foreign affairs Tim Watts, ambassador Barry O’Farrell and consul general Rowan Ainsworth along with guests at the inauguration.
The Oscarspecific special cover released by the West Bengal postal circle
Australian assistant minister of foreign affairs Tim Watts lights the lamp as consul general Rowan Ainsworth, Governor C.V. Ananda Bose and ambassador Barry O’Farrell (extreme right) look on. Picture: Sanat Kr Sinha
The minister later mentioned in his Facebook post on the visit: “A fun night — including with some impressive dancing — as we formally opened Australia’s Consulate-General in Kolkata... (sic).”
Earlier in the year, a special philatelic cover has been released at the General Post Office (GPO) to mark Indian cinema’s Oscar journey. The envelope design had visual references to both the Naatu Naatu signature move as also the other Indian Oscar winner this year — The Elephant Whisperers. “The West Bengal postal circle is the first nationally to commemorate India’s double Oscar win this way,” said chief postmaster general Vidhan Chandra Roy. On the occasion, too, two dancers in sari presented a Naatu Naatu performance under the watch of a lance-wielding mail runner, a statue that stands in the middle of the majestic central rotunda of the GPO.