Mumbai: Bollywood movie ‘Laapataa Ladies’, backed by Aamir Khan Productions and helmed by the actor’s ex-wife Kiran Rao, is out of the Oscars 2025 race.
Chosen from a list of 29 films, ‘Laapataa Ladies’ was India’s official submission for the ‘Best International Feature’ category.
However, the film failed to make the cut as the Academy announced a shortlist of 15 movies for ‘Best International Feature’ category on Tuesday.
Following the exclusion of ‘Laapataa Ladies’ from the Oscars 2025 list, Aamir Khan Productions issued an official statement.
“Laapataa Ladies (Lost Ladies) did not make it to the Academy Awards shortlist this year, and we are of course disappointed, but equally we are immensely grateful for the incredible support and belief we’ve received throughout this journey. We at Aamir Khan Productions, Jio Studios and Kindling Productions extend our gratitude to the Academy members and the FFI jury for considering our film. To be included in this prestigious process alongside some of the finest films from across the world is an honour in itself. Our heartfelt thanks to all the audiences around the world who have expressed their love and support for our film. We congratulate the teams of all the top 15 shortlisted films and wish them the very best in the next stages of the awards. For us, this is not the end but a step forward. We remain committed to bringing more powerful stories to life and sharing them with the world. Thank you for being part of this journey,” read the statement.
Calling out the selectors for choosing ‘Laapataa Ladies’ for the Oscars, three-time Grammy Award-winning music composer Ricky Kej shared on X, “Year after year, we are choosing the wrong films.”
“There are so many excellent movies made, and we should be winning the #InternationalFeatureFilm category every year! Unfortunately, we live in a “Mainstream Bollywood” bubble, where we cannot look beyond films that we ourselves find entertaining,” he added.
“We should just look for good films made by film-makers who are uncompromising in their art.. low budget or big budget.. star or no star.. just great artistic cinema,” he remarked.
So, the @TheAcademy Oscars shortlist is out. #LaapataaLadies is a very well made, entertaining movie (I enjoyed it), but was absolutely the wrong choice to represent India for the best #InternationalFeatureFilm category. As expected, it lost.
When are we going to realize.. year… pic.twitter.com/iWGpSXY1KD— Ricky Kej (@rickykej) December 18, 2024
‘Laapataa Ladies’ revolves around two Indian brides of rural India, who get swapped during their train journey. Despite its domestic success, the film was omitted from the Oscars list, thereby rekindling the debate over the FFI’s selection criteria.
This has brought Payal Kapadia’s Cannes-winning film, ‘All We Imagine As Light’, back to the limelight as many believed it to be India’s strongest contender.
