India's Oscar wins bring Rajya Sabha together amid ruckus regarding Rahul Gandhi's remarks in the UK

The Naatu Naatu song and The Elephant Whisperers on Tuesday brought peace in Rajya Sabha for some time as MPs on warring sides chose to ignore their animosity while competing to congratulate the Oscar winners.

Witnessing intense protest since the start of second leg of Budget Session on Monday, the stage was set for jubilant celebration as Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar referred to RRR song Naatu Naatu, winning the Academy Award for best original song and The Elephant Whisperers for winning the Oscar for best documentary short film.

At least two MPs – Seema Dwivedi and CM Ramesh – and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad sought to credit Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Oscar awards by referring to the nomination of V Vijayendra Prasad, the script-writer of RRR, in the Rajya Sabha.

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Apparently anticipating this, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge had said in jest while congratulating the winners, “my only request is that the ruling party should not take credit that 'we have directed it, we have written the poem...Modiji has directed this film...they should not say that…”

Congress Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh then said the Chair should not expunge these remarks. "This is an occasion for collective celebration and not for narrow partisan point scoring the leader of the house is doing," he added.

Dwivedi congratulated the winners but added, "because of a person who has a 56 inch chest, the whole people now have a 56 inch chest." She was referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had earlier claimed during the campaign that he has a 56 inch chest.

Joshi too sought to commend Modi indirectly saying that it is important to note that the President these days nominates people who are illustrious in their own fields. He was referring to Prasad's nomination to the Rajya Sabha. Ramesh referred to Modi's "foresight" in recommending people like Prasad.

At the same time, Shiv Sena's Priyanka Chaturvedi expected that the Oscars would help end the boycott culture on social media while CPI(M)'s John Brittas expressed anguish over “growing concern that a lot of offended people are growing in the country and a lot of censor cuts are happening to movies."

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This marks a "new recognition of the full spectrum of cinema that India produces" and would "further the internationalisation" of India’s film industry. "These achievements also reflect global appreciation of vast talent, immense creativity and sheer dedication of Indian artistes. Another facet of our global rise and recognition," he said as MPs cheered by thumping the desk.

At one point, he said in jest, "if I was not a lawyer, I would have ventured into acting." To this, Congress' Mukul Wasnik quipped that the MPs would have shared similar sentiments if he was not in the House and was an actor.

Leader of the House Piyush Goyal said The Elephant Whisperers were made by two women of eminence. "It is about gender. It is about respect for our women of India. It is a great mark of recognition for India's women. One more thing. It is about sustainability, and it also shows that the world today is recognizing that sustainability has become core to our philosophy," he said.

Nominated MP Sonal Mansingh said that the word Naatu comes from Nataraja, the god of dance, while elephant has a reference to Lord Ganesha and the award symbolises the cultural roots of the country.

Actress-turned-MP Jaya Bachchan said she stood in the House "with pride and dignity for my film fraternity who have represented this country a number of times and have won a number of awards, starting from Shri Satyajit Ray and others". She added, "this is just a beginning...The market of cinema is here. It is not in America."

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BJD's actor-turned-politician Prashanta Nanda said he has been making films for 60 years and got national and international awards "but this Oscar award for a film on OTT platform is beyond my imagination".

BJD's Amar Patnaik said the award for The Elephant Whisperers depicted "very beautifully" the kind of relationship that human beings have with nature and with the animal world, has been depicted very beautifully.

Trinamool Congress' Sukhendu Sekhar Roy sought a screening of The Elephant Whisperers, which is about a couple in South India who adopt a baby elephant and care for him, for school children to help create awareness for the environment.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said 'brand India' has arrived and it is just a beginning. "India has the potential to become the content hub of the world. Let us work together to make India the content hub of the world," he said.