Laapataa Ladies, Kiran Rao's charming bride-swapping comedy-drama, is India's entry for the 2025 Oscars, the Film Federation of India announced on Monday. The film was selected over 29 other films, the FFI chairman Jahnu Barua said. A 13-member jury considered 12 Hindi films, six Tamil and four Malayalam films to select India's Best International Feature Film Oscars pick. The other films in the running included names such as Animal, Kill, Kalki 2898 AD, Srikanth, Chandu Champion, Joram, Maidaan, Sam Bahadur, Article 370, the Malayalam film Aattam - which won the National Award for Best Feature Film this year - and Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light, a Cannes winner.
"I am deeply honoured and delighted that our film Laapataa Ladies has been chosen as India's official entry to the Academy Awards. This recognition is a testament to the tireless work of my entire team, whose dedication and passion brought this story to life. Cinema has always been a powerful medium to connect hearts, transcend boundaries, and ignite meaningful conversations. I hope that this film will resonate with audiences across the world, just as it has in India," filmmaker Kiran Rao said in a statement.
Speaking to NDTV on Monday, Kiran Rao said: "Even though the film is very particular to India, particular to this village, it stills speaks the language of shared hopes for women and progress."
Laapataa Ladies, directed by Kiran Rao and produced by Aamir Khan, was headlined by a fresh cast - Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastav and Chhaya Kadam - with a powerful cameo by veteran Ravi Kishan. The film released in theatres on March 1 and was applauded by critics and audiences alike, gaining more and more traction through word-of-mouth.
While it didn't rake in staggering earnings at the box office, the film drew a new fanbase after it was released on the streaming giant Netflix.
Laapataa Ladies is a social satire based on an award-winning story by Biplab Goswami. The screenplay and dialogues were by Sneha Desai. Laapataa Ladies was screened at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) last year.
"The film is breezy and light on its feet. It is never, therefore, in danger of being bogged down by the weighty issues that it addresses. Its simple clarion call is in favour of the rights of women who are robbed of their dreams post-marriage and it is couched in simple methods that do not seek to draw too much attention to themselves," said film critic Saibal Chatterjee in his review for NDTV.
