Modiji shouldn't take credit for directing RRR

New Delhi: The country was celebrating as Indian cinema was honoured at the prestigious Academy Awards on Monday. Naatu Naatu song in 'RRR' won the Oscar for the Best Original Song and 'The Elephant Whisperers' won the Best Documentary Short honour at the Oscars.

Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar mentioned 'Naatu Naatu' for winning the Academy Award for best original song and 'The Elephant Whisperers' for winning the Oscar for best documentary short film. The ruckus that ensued in the Rajya Sabha started when the leaders of the regional political parties brought forth the North India versus South India debate and Samajwadi MP Jaya Bachchan, a veteran of Indian cinema, put them down with her remarks.

While congratulating the winners, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge took a dig at the ruling party. While speaking during the budget session, he stated, "I also join to congratulate both the awardees – Naatu Naatu and Elephant Whisperers – both of them come from South India. It is great pride for us. We are also very proud in whatever you have said, we are with you. But my only request is that the ruling party should not take credit saying we have directed, we have written the poem, Modiji has directed the film. That is my only request. It is a contribution of the country."

Union Minister Piyush Goyal pointed out that the win by 'The Elephant Whisperers' was also special because it was driven by two women, making it a proud moment for India.

However, the debate started when MDMK leader Vaiko said, "I want to remind all of you what AR Rahman (Music composer, director) who is from Tamil Nadu, did for India'.

Vaiko was joined by AIADMK's M Thambidurai who said, "The documentary 'The Elephant Whispers' was shot in Ooty and I am proud of it."

Following this, when Jaya Bachchan was giving her speech in the Rajya Sabha she mentioned, "It doesn't matter where they are from North, East, South or West - they are Indians. I stand here with pride and respect for our film fraternity, who have represented this country many times and won many awards." She added that Satyajit Ray won an Oscar in 1992.

"RRR writer (KV Vijayendra Prasad) is not just a screenwriter, he is also a storyteller and a member of the film fraternity. That is a great honour. " Bachchan added. It is to be noted that scriptwriter of RRR, V Vijayendra Prasad, is a Rajya Sabha MP.