21 January 2023
Hyderabad

In a sweet bit of news to the legion of Jr NTR fans, USA Today, a popular US publication, has shortlisted Tarak as one of the hottest contenders for Oscar 2023 for his magnificent performance in SS Rajamouli’s RRR. He was seen as the revolutionary Komaram Bheem who embarks on a mission to New Delhi to save a young girl (from his tiny hamlet) kidnapped by the British.

“Academy, is it possible to go halfsies on a best actor nod? Because this action-packed musical adventure's two Indian mega-stars are what makes "RRR" such an audience-friendly powerhouse: Ram Charan’s British army soldier and Rao’s loyal warrior become friends, butt heads as foes and then come back together as a fighting force, with an all-time bromance and an amazing dance-off along the way. If we have to pick, though, the charismatic Rao has the edge for leading an army of wild animals and juggling a motorcycle with ease,” described the publication.

Tarak is followed by the likes of Tom Cruise for his performance in global box office monstrous hit Top Gun: Maverick, Paul Dano for The Batman and Mia Goth for Pearl. The other potential nominees were Nina Hoss (Tar), Zoe Kravitz (Kimi), Lashana Lynch (The Woman King), Paul Mescal (After Sun), Keke Palmer (Nope) and Jeremy Pope (The Inspection).

Prior to this, Variety also mentioned Tarak among their unranked predictions for the Oscars.

The 95th Academy Awards will announce its final nominations later this week– on January 24th, 2023, while the award ceremony will be held on March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.