“Laapataa Ladies” by Kiran Rao has been selected as India’s official entry for the 2025 Oscars, the Film Federation of India announced on Monday.
This Hindi film, a humorous critique of patriarchy, was chosen from among 29 films, including the Bollywood hit “Animal”, the Malayalam National Award-winning “Aattam”, and the Cannes laureate “All We Imagine As Light”.
The selection committee of 13 members, led by Assamese filmmaker Jahnu Barua, unanimously chose “Laapataa Ladies”, produced by Aamir Khan and Rao, to compete in the best international film category at the Academy Awards.
In addition to “Laapataa Ladies”, the Hindi film “Srikanth”, Tamil films “Vaazhai” and “Thangalaan”, and the Malayalam film “Ullozhukku” were the top contenders from the list of 29 titles.
Released in March to critical acclaim, “Laapataa Ladies” offers an endearing and empowering story of two brides from rural India in 2001 who are mistakenly exchanged during a train journey. The film is a production of Rao’s Kindling Productions, Aamir Khan Productions, and Jio Studios.
The cast includes Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, and Sparsh Shrivastav in leading roles, with Ravi Kishan, Chhaya Kadam, and Geeta Aggarwal Sharma, and premiered globally at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023.
Other films in the selection were the Tamil “Maharaja”, Telugu “Kalki 2898 AD” and “Hanu-Man”, and the Hindi “Swatantraya Veer Savarkar” and “Article 370”.
Since “Lagaan”, starring Aamir Khan in 2002, no Indian film has been nominated for the best international feature film at the Oscars. The only other Indian films to reach the final five were “Mother India” starring Nargis and Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay!”. Last year, the Malayalam hit “2018: Everyone is a Hero” was submitted.
