‘Laapataa Ladies’ is India’s official entry for Oscars 2025

Kiran Rao’s ‘Laapataa Ladies’ has been selected as India’s official entry for the 2025 Oscars, the ‘Film Federation of India’ (FFI) confirmed on Monday. The 97th Academy Awards will take place in March next year.

Co-produced by Aamir Khan and Rao, the film stars Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava and Ravi Kishan and struck a chord with both audiences and critics, both in the theatres and OTT platforms. This whirlwind comedy about two missing brides, set in rural India, subtly portrays women’s empowerment and triumphed over 29 other Indian films to enter the Oscar race. Ranbir Kapoor-starrer ‘Animal’, magnum opus ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ and Cannes winner ‘All We Imagine As Light’ were among the contenders. However, a 13-member committee, chaired by Assamese director Jahnu Barua, unanimously selected ‘Laapataa Ladies’ as India’s official submission for the ‘Best International Film’ category at the upcoming Academy Awards. Last year, India’s entry was the Malayalam film ‘2018: Everyone is a Hero’.

Rao shared her excitement in a statement, saying: “I am deeply honoured and delighted that our film ‘Laapataa Ladies’ has been chosen as India’s official entry to the Academy Awards. This recognition is a testament to the tireless work of my entire team, whose dedication and passion brought this story to life.”

Meanwhile, India’s Oscar entry for 2025 has a Bengal connection. ‘Laapataa Ladies’ is based on an award-winning story by Biplab Goswami, an alumnus of ‘Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute’ (SRFTI) in Kolkata.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time an Aamir Khan movie has been sent to the Oscars. In 2001, ‘Lagaan’, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker and produced by Aamir, was nominated for an Oscar.

In 2006, his film ‘Rang De Basanti’ was selected as India’s entry to the Oscars. Aamir’s directorial debut ‘Taare Zameen Par’ was India’s official entry at the 81st Academy Awards for ‘Best Foreign Film’ but wasn’t nominated.

Besides “Lagaan”, only two other films have previously made it to the final five and they are the Nargis-starrer “Mother India” and Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay!”