Kiran Rao's comedy-drama Laapataa Ladies was celebrated worldwide last year with its impeccable storytelling and performances. Ever since its release, critics and audiences have showered the film with love, and they continue to do so.
The world rejoiced when Rao's film was chosen as India's official entry to the prestigious 97th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category.
However, as the shortlist was announced yesterday, the film unfortunately did not make it. The decision unleashed a wave of disappointment across the country; but there were a few contrarian views as well.
Upon its release last year, Laapataa Ladies had quite the ride at several international film festivals, namely the 48th Toronto International Film Festival 2023, where it bagged the award for Best Film (Critics' Choice), and the Indian Film Festival at Melbourne.
Director Kiran Rao, too, got emotional and shared a reaction on the same. The official Instagram page of the film posted a heartfelt note on it not making it to the Oscars this year. Soon after, the director re-shared the same post along with a heart emoji.
Take a look:
Team Laapataa Ladies extended their gratitude for the immense love and appreciation received for the film.
A snippet of the long post read, "We extend our gratitude to the Academy members and the FFI jury for considering our film. To be included in this prestigious process alongside some of the finest films from across the world is an honour in itself. Our heartfelt thanks to all the audiences around the world who have expressed their love and support for our film."
Though India was saddened by this news, there's still Shahana Goswami's Hindi Language Film Santosh, which made it to the Oscars shortlist. The film is the United Kingdom's entry in the Documentary Short Film Category.
