UPPCS Prelims 2023 · GS Paper I: Who composed the Golden Globe Award winning song "Naatu Naatu"?
Who composed the Golden Globe Award winning song "Naatu Naatu"?
Answer (b) & explanation
Option (b), M.M. Keeravani, is correct. 'Naatu Naatu', from S.S. Rajamouli's Telugu film RRR (2022), was composed by M.M. Keeravani, with lyrics by Chandrabose, and sung by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava. It won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song in January 2023, the first Indian song to do so, and then the Academy Award for Best Original Song in March 2023. Option (a), Rajamouli, directed the film. Option (c), Devi Sri Prasad, composed for Pushpa. Option (d), A.R. Rahman, won two Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire in 2009. Concept: at the same Oscars, The Elephant Whisperers won Best Documentary Short.
Rajamouli directed RRR; the music is by Keeravani.
Question as printed in UPPSC's official question booklet. Source: uppsc.up.nic.in
Same theme in UPPCS Mains
Same theme in UPSC Mains
Related questions from other years
Which one of the following statements with regard to the Moidams, built by the Tai-Ahom kingdom and inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, is/are correct ?
- 1. They acted as army fortresses.
- 2. They were recreation centres of the Royals and Nobles.
- 3. They were burial grounds of the Royals and Nobles.
- 4. They were battle drill centres of the Royals and Nobles.
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (c) & explanation
Only statement 3 is correct (c). The Moidams of Charaideo in Assam are earthen burial mounds of Ahom kings, queens and nobles, raised over vaulted chambers from the 13th to the 19th century. Statement 3 is right. Statements 1, 2 and 4 are wrong: they were never army forts, recreation centres or battle drill grounds. So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice their status: in 2024 they became the North-East's first cultural World Heritage Site, and India's 43rd. They are often called the "pyramids of Assam". The Ahoms ruled Assam for about 600 years, and their general Lachit Borphukan defeated the Mughals at Saraighat (1671). Charaideo was their first capital.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The Hallisalasya painting in the Bagh Caves represents :
Answer (a) & explanation
The Hallisalasya painting shows a joyous folk dance (a). The Bagh caves in Madhya Pradesh have murals close in style to Ajanta. The best-known panel shows hallisaka: women dancing in a ring around a male dancer while others play music. Hallisaka is an old folk dance named in Sanskrit texts, and lasya means graceful dance. Option (b) is wrong: it is not the Buddha meditating. Option (c) is wrong: Shiva and Parvati on Kailasha is a theme at Ellora. Option (d) is wrong: it is not Samudramanthan.
Notice Bagh's features: Buddhist caves of the 5th–6th centuries, cut in soft sandstone, near the Bagh river. Many paintings were damaged; some are now kept in the Gwalior museum. The town is also known for Bagh print textiles.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following Carnatic music ragas is similar to Raga Bilawal in Hindustani music ?
Answer (d) & explanation
Dheera Shankarabharanam matches Raga Bilawal (d). Bilawal is the Hindustani thaat with all seven notes natural (shuddha), the same scale as the Western major scale. Its Carnatic twin is Dheera Shankarabharanam, the 29th melakarta. Option (a) is wrong: Nat Bhairavi matches Asavari. Option (b) is wrong: Kamavardhini (Pantuvarali) matches Purvi. Option (c) is wrong: Hanumatodi matches the Hindustani Bhairavi.
Notice the two systems: Hindustani music has ten thaats, classified by V.N. Bhatkhande, while Carnatic music has 72 melakartas, organised by Venkatamakhin. Another easy pair: Kalyan (Yaman) matches Mechakalyani (Kalyani). Trick: match the notes, not the names, since some names, like Bhairavi, mean different scales in the two systems.
Hanumatodi sounds like Todi, but the Carnatic Todi scale is the Hindustani Bhairavi thaat, not Bilawal.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following temples has/have a Nagara-style shikhara ?
- 1. Malegitti Shivalaya, Badami
- 2. Huchimalligudi Temple, Aihole
- 3. Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh
- 4. Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Huchimalligudi and Deogarh have Nagara-style shikharas (b). Item 3 is right: the Dashavatara temple at Deogarh (Gupta period) had an early northern-style shikhara. Item 2 is right: at Aihole, the Huchimalligudi temple carries a curved Nagara (rekha) tower over its sanctum. Items 1 and 4 are wrong: Malegitti Shivalaya at Badami and the Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal are Dravida temples with stepped vimanas. So options (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice why the Chalukya sites matter: Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal were a laboratory where both styles stood side by side. Pattadakal, a UNESCO site, has Nagara temples like Papanatha next to Dravida ones. Vesara later blended the two.
The Chalukyan sites have both styles side by side. Do not mark a temple Dravida only because it stands in Karnataka.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.