Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies is India’s entry for the Best International Film category at the Oscars. The Film Federation of India, which constitutes the Oscar selection committee every year, made the announcement today in Chennai.
The 13-member jury was headed by Assamese director Jahnu Barua. The decision was unanimous, an FFI source told Scroll.
Laapataa Ladies is based on an original story by Biplab Goswami and a screenplay by Sneha Desai. Rao’s second feature is a comedy about two brides who get swapped during a train ride. Through their contrasting journeys, Laapataa Ladies explores the empowerment of women. The Hindi movie stars Pratibha Ranta, Nitanshi Goel, Sparsh Srivastava, Ravi Kishan and Chhaya Kadam.
In its citation, the FFI jury said: “Indian women are a strange mixture of submission and dominance. Well-defined, powerful characters in one world, Laapataa Ladies (Hindi) captures this diversity perfectly though in a semi-idyllic world and in a tongue-in-cheek way. It shows you that women can happily desire to be home makers as well as rebels and be entrepreneurially inclined. A story that can simultaneously be seen as one that needs change, and one that can bring about change. Laapataa Ladies (Hindi) is a film that can engage, entertain and make sense not just to women in India but universally as well.”
The 97th Oscars for productions released in 2024 will be held on March 2, 2025. Over the past few years, 2018, The Last Picture Show, Koozhangal, Jallikattu, Gully Boy and Village Rockstars have been nominated to represent India in the category that was previously known as the Best Foreign Language Film.
The first shortlist for the Oscars will be announced on December 17. The final list of nominations will be out on January 17, 2025. Five titles will compete the Best International Film category.
In the past, three Indian productions have made it to the international film shortlist: Mehboob Khan’s Mother India, Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay! and Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan. Aamir Khan, who produced and headlined Lagaan, is also the co-producer of Laapataa Ladies.
The Indian winners at the Oscars include Bhanu Athaiya for Gandhi in 1983, music composer AR Rahman, sound designer Resul Pookutty and lyricist Gulzar for Slumdog Millionaire in 2009, composer MM Keeravani for the song Naatu Naatu from RRR in 2023, and Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga for the documentary Elephant Whisperers in 2023.
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Kiran Rao on ‘Laapataa Ladies’: ‘Comedy disarms and charms you, as opposed to talking down to you’