‘It’s like an election’

With a backdrop of dusty Madhya Pradesh villages and real-life locales, Laapata Ladies captures the essence of a lost India, where women disappear—figuratively and literally—amid the chaos of cultural expectations

In a year filled with heavyweights, it was Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies that emerged as India's official entry to the 2025 Oscars. Unfolding in the heart of rural India, this film is a commentary on patriarchy, which juxtaposes humour with deep societal critique. With a backdrop of dusty Madhya Pradesh villages and real-life locales, the film captures the essence of a lost India, where women disappear - figuratively and literally - amid the chaos of cultural expectations.

When the Film Federation of India revealed that Laapataa Ladies would carry the nation's hopes at the Academy Awards, cinephiles cheered - but not everyone was convinced. Selected from 29 films, including Animal, Kalki 2898 AD, and All We Imagine as Light (AWIAL), the victory was both sweet and surprising. While many celebrated Rao's comeback and the film's understated brilliance, others couldn't help but voice their discontent over what they saw as missed opportunities. Fans of All We Imagine as Light, a Cannes sensation, took to social media in droves. The Payal Kapadia-starrer is considered to be one that has a real shot at Oscars. Their argument? That Laapataa Ladies, while charming, lacks the international appeal of its more polished competitors.

Kani Kusruti, Chhaya Kadam, Payal Kapadia and Divya Prabha pose with the Grand Prix Award for All We Imagine As Light during the closing ceremony at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival. Pic/Getty Images

Celebrated writer Varun Grover tweeted, "I mean it was expected that the chaaploos mandali (who can't even write a citation with any attention to detail or meaning) will never select a film by someone who has questioned their authority. And, it's still heartbreaking. We rarely get such a strong contender as AWIAL. At the same time, happy for Kiran Rao and her team. They made a sensitive, progressive, rooted film told beautifully through a new set of actors (and a hate-speecher) - and totally deserve a shot at glory. Best wishes to them. Jai Ho!"

While Grover didn't wish to elaborate on the subject beyond this tweet, an indie favourite filmmaker tells us: "It's undeniable that AWIAL was a stronger contender and should have been picked. The primary reason for this getting picked is Aamir Khan's previous record with Lagaan. His ability to get visibility increases his chances of actually bringing home the Oscar."

Pan Nalin, director, Chhello Show, India's 2023 entry for the Oscars; Kiran Rao; Jahnu Barua, jury chairman

Laapataa Ladies was a unanimous decision, Jahnu Barua, the head of the Federation, told us. He told mid-day, "The film resonated deeply with us because it brings forward global social issues that are rarely explored on screen. As jurors, we want to select a film that has the best chance of making it into the Oscar nominations. The jury did deliberate over the AWIAL. It's a significant work that deserves attention, especially since there were high expectations surrounding it. However, we felt that there were technical aspects that could have been stronger. When selecting a film for the Oscars, many factors come into play. While the subject was undeniably powerful, and Payal has crafted it beautifully, we ultimately had to make a tough choice. We wish we could have chosen both."

So what is one looking for while choosing India's entry to the Oscars? We asked Pan Nalin about his film Last Film Show (also known as Chhello Show) which beat RRR to get chosen as India's official entry, much to the horror of fans. Nalin said, "In our case, it was a complete surprise. You know, we were not even sure that we would ever get selected. The buzz in India was of very big, popular films. But when it comes to Oscars, it's not really about popularity, but the film which will speak to the members of the academy in the US. So, from that point of view, I guess they must have voted for us. And once we become an entry, it's a big work, you know, we need to do as a producer and director. It's really huge work. You know, you need to mount a massive campaign in Hollywood. You need to organise quite a lot of screening for the members of the academy. So, in our time, there were, for example, 102 films from 102 different countries. And the first round of voting leaves 15 film shortlist nominations. So, we were shortlisted. Voting is done purely by the academy. India has no role to play there. All the academy members have to watch the film in order to vote. When we got shortlisted, you know, it was after a 21-year gap. Before that, the film which got shortlisted was Lagaan and went on to get the nomination. Our journey stopped there. And we also realised a couple of things while we were doing the campaign. Because we had no idea, we were learning as we were running the campaign for India. When the Oscar shortlist is announced, it's actually the map of each country shown in the academy screen. So, it's neither the director nor the film. It's actually you who is representing a country. You are representing a flag when you go there. The film was luckily very heavily appreciated. We were invited at the academy to do multiple screenings. But where we lacked is time and money. Because you do need a lot of funds, you know, to mark the campaign. And advertising in international media and the US media is really expensive. The billboards alone are costly and you need to really have a great campaign. In the past five years, the publicity campaign has become aggressive and expensive. It's very much like an election. You have to really make sure that every vote is earned. And the only way to earn a vote is maximum people have to see your film, who are the members of the academy."

Nalin says the jury is looking for a universal story. "It is important because we were already acquired by an American distributor called Samuel Goldwyn Films. The fact that it speaks to an international audience is a plus. It is a gamble that must speak to international jury and voting committee members of the academy. The film has to be universal to start with because most of the academy members are American, you know, I would say almost 85 per cent of them. Since the past 15 years, it has been very inclusive. Lots of foreign country members are being invited who are in the academy. Now, I am a voting member as well. We know that if we had the right amount of funds and time, we would have gone much further in the campaign. But we had no example to fall upon. We had no master class to learn something from other examples. Because none of the films from India had made it up to that in 20 years, since Lagaan. It makes sense that Aamir Khan has a shot at this again. Laapataa has a chance to make it."

The one element connecting the two films is Chhaya Kadam - who appears as Manju Mai in Rao's film and is currently in France for the premiere of AWIAL. She told us, "I'm absolutely thrilled and overjoyed! It's such a proud moment for me to see Laapataa Ladies chosen as India's official Oscar entry. At the same time, I'm in Paris for the premiere of All We Imagine As Light, which has been shortlisted by France as a possible submission for the 2025 Oscars. It's truly exciting to have both films recognised on an international stage." Is there a chance for AWIAL still? "I would have wanted to see them both at the Oscars. It might still happen," she said optimistically.

Nandini Ramnath, film critic, Scroll.in, tells us choosing the best pick is a tough choice regardless, because of the diversity of the films being made. "A few factors work in the favour of Laapataa Ladies: it has Aamir Khan as one of three producers; he has had previous experience with Lagaan; Laapataa Ladies is easily available to the Academy voters by virtue of already being on Netflix all over the world. I have watched both films. They are very different. Laapataa Ladies is a sweet modern-day fairy tale told in a realistic manner. All We Imagine as Light is a textured exploration of the shades of feminine desire and a quest for meaning. Given the current tendency of the Oscars to be more receptive to all kinds of storytelling styles from around the world, rather than just a certain kind of global-local international film, Payal Kapadia's feature debut would have been an excellent contender too, especially given its Cannes award. Movies speak differently to different sets of viewers. What works at a film festival often doesn't work for the Oscar voters. In general, films that can communicate their themes well and have layers in their plotting, performances and filmmaking language can travel to any corner of the world, regardless of the theme."

When we asked her how she thinks politics and personal biases play into the selection process for India's Oscar entries, Ramnath has the last word, "I think it fair to say that the Film Federation of India, for all its drawbacks, has been trying to keep away from political choices. If that were the case, the jury would have picked a propaganda film."