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Chennai: Kiran Rao’s “Laapataa Ladies”, a gentle, satirical take on gender dynamics and patriarchy in rural India, is the country’s official entry for Oscars 2025, the Film Federation of India announced here on Monday.
The Hindi film, about two brides getting swapped on the day of their wedding during a train ride in 2001, was chosen from a list of 29 films, including Bollywood hit “Animal”, Malayalam National Award winner “Aattam” and Cannes winner “All We Imagine As Light”.
The 13-member selection committee headed by Assamese director Jahnu Barua unanimously decided on “Laapataa Ladies”, produced by Aamir Khan and Rao, for reckoning in the best international film category at the Academy Awards.
Besides “Laapataa Ladies”, Hindi film “Srikanth”, Tamil movies “Vaazhai” and “Thangalaan” and Malayalam film “Ullozhukku” were among the top five in the 29-title list.
The understated “Laapataa Ladies”, sans any big starry names, was released in March to universal praise from critics. It is backed by Rao’s Kindling Productions, Aamir Khan Productions, and Jio Studios.
Being selected as India’s official entry for the academy awards was beyond what she could have imagined, Rao said.
“We are grateful for this recognition and excited about the journey ahead. I have not had a moment to breathe and soak it in entirely. But I did speak to Aamir and a few of my actors and team when we got the news. It is a moment of collective joy and disbelief! We’ve poured so much of ourselves into this film,” the filmmaker told PTI.
Rao, who was an assistant director on “Lagaan”, also produced by Aamir Khan and the last film from India to make it to the final five nominations, said the plan is to learn “from those who have walked this path before”.
“Aamir’s experience with ‘Lagaan’ and his deep understanding of the international film landscape are invaluable. He’s been through this process before, and his insights will definitely help us make informed decisions,” she added.
The filmmaker, who returned to direct “Laapataa Ladies” after the 2010 “Dhobi Ghat”, said she and her team look forward to taking the journey ahead “with great enthusiasm”.
“We are all so happy with the news. I am so proud of Kiran and her entire team,” Khan said in his statement.
Thanking the FFI selection committee, he expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the audience, the media and film fraternity and hoped the film is able to able to “win the hearts of the members of the Academy”.
Starring Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta and Sparsh Shrivastav in the lead alongside Ravi Kishan, Chhaya Kadam and Geeta Aggarwal Sharma, the Hindi film had its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.
Based on a story by Biplab Goswami, the screenplay and dialogues are by Sneha Desai and the additional dialogues are written by Divyanidhi Sharma.
The 97th Oscars will be held on March 2 next year.
Actor and BJP MP Kishan, who plays a cop in the film, credited Rao, Khan, his co-stars and writers.
“I never thought the film would go to the Oscars. The entire world will witness Indian society, especially rural India which comprises 80 per cent of the country’s population, from the Oscars stage.
“They will see how India’s daughters are moving forward. The film gives a beautiful message about how these daughters don’t give up on their dreams, be it self-reliance or organic farming,” Kishan told PTI in Gorakhpur while dedicating the film to the daughters of India.
Kadam, who essayed the fan favourite Manju Maai, a fierce tea seller with a soft corner for one of the two heroines in “Laapataa Ladies”, said she had predicted this. “This happiness doesn’t belong only to me, it belongs to Indian cinema,” she told PTI.
It’s a twin treat for the actor, currently in Spain for a film premiere. In May, she was in Cannes where her film “All We Imagine As Light”, directed by Payal Kapadia, became the first movie from India to win the Grand Prix award.
The day was not without some controversy though.
In its citation for “Laapataa Ladies”, the 13-member all-male jury of FFI, wrote: “Indian women are a strange mixture of submission and dominance. Well-defined, powerful characters in one world a Laapataa Ladies (Hindi) captures this diversity perfectly, though in a semi-idyllic world and in a tongue-in-cheek way.”
The citation led to a social media debate with a section of social media users roasting the jury for failing to understand the very message that the film tries to convey.
“Offensive”, “dismissive”, “patronising” and “ironic” were the terms with which many on social media reacted to the citation, particularly the line “a strange mixture of submission and dominance”.
There were also those who criticised FFI for passing over “All We Imagine As Light”.
No Indian film has been nominated for best international feature film at the Oscars since the Khan-starrer “Lagaan” in 2002. Only two other films have previously made it to the final five and they are the Nargis-starrer “Mother India” and Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay!”
Malayalam superhit “2018: Everyone is a Hero” was sent last year.
Inputs from PTI
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