Twitter blocks Naatu Naatu, RRR distributor hits back

2 min read . Updated: 18 Feb 2023, 01:21 PM IST Sounak Mukhopadhyay

Naatu Naatu is sung by Kala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj.

RRR distributor Variance Films has accused Twitter of not allowing the popular song for advertising.

Twitter has blocked Oscar-nominated Naatu Naatu song from appearing in Twitter advertising. Variance Films, the distributor of RRR, has accused Elon Musk-helmed social media platform of not allowing the popular song for advertising.

The apparent reason for Twitter blocking footage of the song is that Telugu is not an allowed language for Twitter advertising.

“We’d like to advertise our Academy Award nominated film RRR.But Telugu, spoken by over 81 million people, isn’t an ‘approved language’ for ads, so you’ve blocked us from advertising entirely for trying to promote a subtitled clip? Is that correct?" Variance tweeted while adding Twitter Support and Elon Musk.

Hey @TwitterSupport @elonmusk- we'd like to advertise our Academy Award nominated film RRR

But Telugu, spoken by over 81 million people, isn't an "approved language" for ads, so you've blocked us from advertising entirely for trying to promote a subtitled clip?

Is that correct?
— Variance Films (@VarianceFilms) February 16, 2023

The distribution company also shared the “controversial ad" featuring Naatu Naatu song, composed by M. M. Keeravani. Numerous RRR fans have urged Twitter to fix it at the earliest while some of them wondered if free speech was “only for people speaking certain languages".

“In India, after Hindi, the 2nd or 3rd highest spoken language is Telugu. As you know, the RRR movie is a global phenomenon. As an audience member, I want Twitter to fix the issue ASAP and unblock the RRR movie. Twitter handle and support variance films to promote Natu Natu song (sic)," wrote one user.

“Hire a third-party content promotion agency. They work at less prices and have contacts with moderation teams and can snoop in the ads without getting banned. Or atleast they will try to address them if the ad is banned," suggested another user to Variance Films.

One of the Twitter users asked Elon Musk to check how many of his employees are Telugu-speaking. Naatu Naatu, sung by Kala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj, became the first Indian song to win the Best Original Song award at the Golden Globes. It beat songs like Lady Gaga’s ‘Hold My Hand’, Rihanna’s ‘Lift Me Up’ and Taylor Swift’s ‘Carolina’.

RRR was also nominated for Best Non-English Language Film, but Argentina 1985 won the award.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sounak Mukhopadhyay

Sounak Mukhopadhyay, who also goes by the name Sounak Mukherjee, has been producing digital news since 2012. He's worked for the International Business Times, The Inquisitr, and Moneycontrol in the past. He's also contributed to Free Press Journal and TheRichest with feature articles. He covers news for a wide range of subjects including business, finance, economy, politics and social media. Before working with digital news publications, he worked as a freelance content writer.