Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies Heads To Oscars As India’s Official Entry For 2025

Laapataa Ladies will be India's entry for Oscars 2025 under the foreign film category. Film Federation of India's selection committee Chairman, Jahnu Barua, made the announcement on Monday. The 13-member jury chose the Kiran Rao directorial for its impactful storytelling.

The film’s blend of humour and social commentary has been applauded by both critics and audiences alike.

The film was chosen from a list of 29 films across India, including 12 Hindi, six Tamil, and four Malayalam films. Bollywood hit 'Animal', Malayalam National Award winner 'Aattam' and Cannes winner 'All We Imagine As Light', were among considerations.

Produced by Kiran Rao, Aamir Khan, and Jyoti Deshpande, the film featured a fresh ensemble cast, including Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastav, Chhaya Kadam, and Ravi Kishan. It tells the humorous yet thought-provoking story of two newlywed brides, who accidentally swap places during a train journey to their husbands' homes.

Based on an award-winning story by Biplab Goswami, with a screenplay by Sneha Desai and additional dialogues by Divyanidhi Sharma, Laapataa Ladies had its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last year.

Though its box office performance was modest after its March 1 release in India, the film gained a growing fanbase following its streaming debut on Netflix.