Director Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies was selected by the Film Federation of India as India’s official entry for the Best Foreign Film Category at the 97th Academy Awards.
The decision was made on Monday, September 23.
Laapataa Ladies directed by Kiran Rao and produced by Aamir Khan, dealt with the story of two young newlywed brides, who accidentally swap places during a train ride to their husbands' homes. The film starred Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Srivastava and Nitanshi Goel. It was released in India on March 1, 2024 and became available for streaming on Netflix in April.
In its citation the Film Federation of India 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 homemakers as well as rebel and be entrepreneurially inclined. A story that can simultaneously be seen as one that needs change, and one that can bring about change. Lapataa Ladies (Hindi) is a film that can engage, entertain and make sense not just to women in India but universally as well.”
The other 29 films which were in the race of the Academy Awards selection included Hanu-Man, Kalki 2898 AD, Animal, Chandu Champion, Sam Bahadur, Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, Good Luck, Gharat Ganpati, Maidaan, Joram, Kottukaali, Jama, Article 370, Aattam, Aadujeevitham, and All We Imagine As Light.
Laapataa Ladies emerged as the winner of the selection competing against four top other films which included Pa Ranjith’s Thangalaan, Mari Selvaraj’s Vaazhai, Christo Tomy’s Ullozhukku, and Tushar Hiranandani’s Srikanth.
The makers of All We Imagine As Light were highly hopeful of their film’s selection to compete at the Academy awards, after winning the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival this year. To qualify for the Oscar selection, actor Rana Daggubati, who owns the distribution rights of the film in India, had released the film in Kerala last Saturday. Interestingly, the film was shortlisted by France to represent the country at the Oscars.
Last year, the committee had nominated Jude Anthany Joseph 2018 for the prestigious award. However, the film did not make it to the shortlist of 15 films.