The Oscars: a time of wait and excitement for civilians and actors alike. A chance to be nationally recognized, and in 2023, it was India's turn. Naatu Naatu, from the tollywood movie RRR, shocked hundreds when it won best original song at the Oscars: a first for all South Asian media. 

The win should’ve been a sign of increasing representation, but ironically, that was just what was missing. The performance that accompanied the presentation of the award was almost the same as the original; the choreography, vocals, and fashion were amazing. The one problem was that none of the dancers were Indian. 

Many who protested or criticized this decision were told they were making a big deal out of nothing or over exaggerating. “Be happy with what you got,” was a common response. Even those coming from a place of understanding, many don’t understand why it truly matters. The Indian community is in no way shape or form ungrateful–it’s an immense honor to be recognized and receive this award, which is precisely why this matters so much. A huge part of this award and what it meant to Indians everywhere was the fact that India and India's cinemas have never been recognized in such a significant way before. The fact that such an underrepresented minority in the film industry in Hollywood was given this acknowledgment meant so much to so many people–which is exactly what triggered so many Indians about this blatant whitewashing of the dance. The big meaning of this award was to show some representation of this minority, and to not even hire Indian dancers was almost like a slap in the face. For this to be India’s first leap into mainstream western media and to not even use any Indian minority talent when recreating the famous tollywood song is quite atrocious, especially considering there is no shortage of Indian actors and dancers either. 

To add another layer of irony, the movie itself is also about colonization, so it’s quite ironic that they chose to “colonize” this song and dance with all white dancers. It isn't even accurate to the storyline and plot–it would make no sense if the main dancers were white as they were actively singing a song about colonization and Indian tradition in response to a racist interaction. So many Indians felt this was a disrespectful gesture that truly undermined the victory of the award overall as well as the meaning of the song and movie. 

Yes, the dancers were talented; yes, they did a great job; yes, the performance was great. Even with all these yesses, this has truly left a bad taste in so many Indians’ mouths and has shown this minority that even in something fully about them, mainstream American media does not care about them enough to properly and accurately represent them.