Laapataa Ladies worthy contender for Oscars? Fans feel All We Imagine As Light had better chance
Laapataa Ladies
Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies has been selected as India's official entry to Oscars 2025 in the Best International Feature Film category. While the decision, made by the Film Federation of India, has been greeted with a lot of joy by cinema lovers, it has also left the internet divided. Like every year, some have disagreed with FFI's decision and expressed that there was a better film that should have represented India this year at the Oscars. Some on social media have stated that Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light would have been a worthy pick.
All We Imagine As Light premiered earlier this year at the 77th Cannes Film Festival this year. It became the first Indian film to win a Grand Prix festival. Most netizens felt that the film had a fair chance at winning at the Oscars considering it had already got a Cannes nod.Cannes 2024: All We Imagine As Light wins the Grand Prix, first Indian film to win the honour
All We Imagine As Light got a limited release in India earlier this month to qualify for the Oscar race. However, the FFI decided to choose Laapataa Ladies.
A delightful tale of two missing brides, set in rural india in the early 2000s, Laapataa Ladies earned critical praise upon its release. The film featured Nitanshi Goel, Sparsh Shrivastava and Pratibha Ranta in their Bollywood debuts, along with seasoned actors Chhaya Kadam and Ravi Kishan.
The film has been backed by Aamir Khan and directed by Kiran Rao.
On Monday, as the news of the film's entry to the Oscar race came to light, several fans took to X to celebrate, calling the film a worthy contender for Oscars.
“Face hi to sab kuch hota hai...face dhak dena matlab pehchan dhak denaA deserving entry to the Oscars 2025. #KiranRao the Director 🫡 A special thanks to megastar #AamirKhan to back this kind of movies #LaapataaLadies.”
There were others who expressed disappointment at the decision.
“This is truly tragic. A movie that can get a confirmed Oscar nom gets lost and chose #LaapataaLadies. Hope other countries take this movie #allweimagineaslight to the Oscars”, whereas another angry social media user shared, “Absurd decision not to choose All We Imagine As Light - a film that won the Cannes Grand Prix, received international recognition and already widely praised, as our official selection. Much as I loved Laapata Ladies…”
Deeply honoured: Kiran Rao on Laapataa Ladies being selected as India’s official Oscars entry
Interestingly, both Laapataa Ladies and All We Imagine As Light have one commonality. Both films feature the incredible Chhaya Kadam, who plays key characters in both films.
Laapataa Ladies will begin its Oscar campaign in a few weeks in the US. We will have to wait and watch if the film can qualify and get nominated in the Best International Feature Film category.
