‘NAATU NAATU’ FROM ‘RRR’

So you just saw the Indian smash “RRR” and think you may be possessed. A mysterious force is making you attempt some extraordinarily masculine kick-dancing — Riverdance on super-soldier serum. Blame composer M.M. Keeravani, who, with lyricist Chandrabose, concocted the movie’s fiendish earworm, “Naatu Naatu.”

“The chorus line, that’s the catchy phrase,” says Keeravani, singing the droning hook: “‘Naa-tu, naatu naatu naatu naatu naatu veera, Naa-tu.’ I was asked to do a catchy number that would be an aggressive dance. My job was very simple. It will stick.”

Keeravani says that in India’s Telugu language, “the exact meaning of ‘naatu’ is ‘country’ — it’s country music. It’s a genre. ‘I don’t want jazz, I don’t want classical; I don’t want anything but country, country, country, country.’ ”

A showdown in the epically macho bromance sparks a highstakes dance-off. “The backbone is the beat — we call it ‘duff.’ That instrument: ‘Dahng dahng da daka da daka da dahng da daka da daka da.’ That’s the pulse of this song. The bass pattern, any other instruments, like the flutes — they take the back seat. Only rhythm is going to take the front seat.”

The song has taken off internationally, with students and others posting videos online of their versions of the dance (Keeravani cites one of American college kids’ that he particularly enjoys). Why has this Bollywood song resonated with so many? It might be the unbridled energy and joy in the film’s sequence.

‘It’s not a song that smacks you over the head, but if you listen to it, it’s quite beautiful.’ DAVID BYRNE, about ‘This Is a Life,’ a collaboration with composers Son Lux and singer-songwriter Mitski