Laapata Ladies has emerged as an official submission from India in the Foreign Film category of the 97th Academy Awards (Oscars) 2025.
The Kiran Rao-directed film, under production by Aamir Khan, has Ravi Kishan, Sparsh Srivastava, Pratibha Ranta, and Nitanshi Goyal in lead roles.
Speaking on Monday, September 23, Jahnu Barua, Chairman of the Selection Committee of the Film Federation of India, said, “29 films were competing in the Foreign Film Category.” Some of the prominent films going for the prize were Vicky Kaushal’s Sam Bahadur, Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal, and Kartik Aryan’s Chandu Champion. Laapata Ladies, however, was chosen by the 13-member jury.
What happens next
Films from several countries will be entered in the category of Foreign Film at the Oscars. Of those, the Oscar jury will make selections for nominations on a few. Their nominations for the following year’s Oscar will come out on January 17, and the event will be held on March 2 when the winners will be known.
So far, three Indian films (Mother India, Salaam Bombay, and Lagaan) have received this nomination, but none of them won.
Films That Were Nominated
Movies that competed with Laapata Ladies for the official entry status include Hanu-Man, Kalki 2898 AD, Animal, Chandu Champion, Sam Bahadur, Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, Good Luck, Gharat Ganpati, Maidan, Joram, Kottukali, Jama, Article 370, Attam, Aadujeevitham, and All We Imagine As Light. Jurors decided unanimously that among them four movies besides Laapata Ladies got a place in the top five.
Director Kiran Rao CREDITS Team’s hard work
Director Kiran Rao, upon being contacted, seemed to be in an excited mood, saying, “I’m honored and happy with the selection of our film Laapata Ladies as India’s entry to the Oscars. This is a team effort and speaks of all the hard work and dedication of the people behind it. Hope it reaches out to the minds of the world.”.
She thanked the selection committee and thanked Aamir Khan Productions and Jio Studios for their encouragement. Finally, she expressed her gratitude to the audience for loving the film.
Made on ₹5 Crores, Earned ₹25 Crores
Laapata Ladies is one of the two films that had a successful run on the big screen on March 1 this year. Despite its low budget ₹5 crores, the movie Laapata Ladies became a box office success; it garnered ₹25 crores. It received critical and public acclaim even though it ran an average show at the box office.
Movie Story
It is set in merely a rural village during the wedding season. Two young men are traveling by train with their newlywed brides, whose faces are covered with veils. These brides disappear mysteriously into thin air during the train journey. One of them, Deepak, brings Pushpa home as he mistakenly identifies her with his wife and forgets his other wife, Phool, at the railway station. How do the girls land up wrongly, you may ask? Well, this confusion arises due to the fact that the brides were wearing veils on their faces and no one was able to know each of their identities.
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