Oscars: Netizens question 'Laapataa Ladies' selection over 'All We Imagine...'
Kiran Rao's directorial venture, Laapataa Ladies, has been selected as India's official entry for the 2025 Oscars, the Film Federation of India announced on Monday. The film will compete in the Best Foreign Film category at the 97th Academy Awards. Laapataa Ladies was chosen from a pool of 29 entries. However, this decision has sparked anger among some netizens, who opine that Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine as Light should have been picked instead.
'Like handing a batter Player of the Match...'
Moments after LL was announced as India's selection for the Oscars, X started buzzing with different opinions. While some fans showered love on the film and wished Rao well, others said that it was a "foolish" decision and may cost India a potential nomination. An X user wrote, "Sending it to the Oscars is like handing a batter a Player-of-the-Match Award when you have proof a bowler - Cannes Grand Prix winner All We Imagine....—won you the game."
'What a waste of a great opportunity...'
Another furious netizen wrote, "To think that India potentially had a real winner on their Hands with Kapadia's All We Imagine As Lights....what a waste of great-f*****g-opportunity....the selection committee continues to be joyless constant every year with their schmaltzy-preachy picks..." Another wrote, "Should have been All We Imagine As Light. Winning Grand Prix at Cannes is a big feat and the theme of the movie resonates with western ideology."
'Laapataa Ladies': A unique narrative challenging patriarchal norms
Laapataa Ladies challenges patriarchal norms through a comedic lens. The film tells the story of two young brides in rural India in 2001 who accidentally get swapped during a train journey. Produced by Rao's Kindling Productions and Aamir Khan Productions, the film stars Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, and Sparsh Shrivastav, alongside Ravi Kishan, Chhaya Kadam, and Geeta Aggarwal Sharma. It whizzed past Animal, Aattam, and Kalki 2898 AD, among others, to be chosen as India's entry.
Know more about 'All We Imagine...'
Kapadia's All We Imagine as Light, which is her feature directorial debut and won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, stars Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Kadam and Hridhu Haroon. IMDb describes its plot as, "In Mumbai, Nurse Prabha's routine is troubled when she receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband. Her younger roommate, Anu, tries in vain to find a spot in the city to be intimate with her boyfriend."
