The response is overwhelming: German ambassador

The craze for Naatu Naatu (RRR, 2022), which gained global popularity even before it won the Best Original Song at the 95th Academy Awards, has not spared the diplomats in the Capital from shaking a leg too!

Recently, German ambassador Philipp Ackermann shared a video of the German Embassy staff doing a flash mob on the streets of Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi. The 2.19-minute video has gone viral and received 2.6 million views so far. Ackermann says, “We were inspired by the South Korean Embassy, who did it first.” For the team, it was a gratifying moment. As Ackermann says, “Onlookers cheered, clapped and interacted with us. It was such a rewarding moment.”

Furthermore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the efforts. He retweeted the video and wrote, “The colours and flavours of India! Germans can surely dance and dance well!”

Ackermann, who was “overwhelmed by the response”, adds, “Being retweeted by the PM is an accolade, and it doesn’t happen that often.” He shares that “coordinating the steps was challenging but fun”, and that it “required a lot of legwork”, especially for him at his age. He also adds that they had more than “20 members in the team, and more than half of them were Indian colleagues”.

“The team pulled it off after two rehearsals during lunch breaks with the help of a dance instructor,” the ambassador adds, sharing that they had also planned to have a mix of “German and Indian attire”, but they couldn’t achieve it entirely. However, Ackermann quips, “My blue kurta was a success! There’s nothing more comfortable than wearing a kurta pyjama in summer!”

The ambassador also challenged other embassies to share their versions of Naatu Naatu: “I hear Brits making some noise and some remarks by the Danish ambassador. So, let’s see!”

Lastly, Ackermann expresses his love for Indian cinema and mentions that he particularly enjoyed the dancing scenes in RRR. He also recalls giving “CDs of the movie Chak De! India (2007)” to his friends “10-15 years ago” and praises “the evolution of the Indian movie industry”.