Laapataa Ladies out of Oscars race

The Oscar run of Laapataa Ladies is over! Kiran Rao and Aamir Khan’s movie was India’s official entry in the Best Foreign Language Film Category for the 97th Academy Awards, but didn’t make it to the final shortlist.

The list of 15 eligible films released by the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences in the category includes submissions from France, Brazil and Canada as well as UK’s official entry, British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri’s Santosh, starring Shahana Goswami and Sunita Rajwar.

As soon as it became clear that Laapataa Ladies didn’t make it to the list, the debate whether the Film Federation of India (FFI) was choosing the right films as its entries was reignited. The matter was already under discussion, with the majority of critics and fans favouring Payal Kapadia’s Cannes Grand Prix winner All We Imagine As Light.

Expressing his frustration on X, filmmaker Hansal Mehta wrote, “Film Federation of India does it again! Their strike rate and selection of films year after year is impeccable.”

Grammy Award-winning composer Ricky Kej, wrote on X “Laapataa Ladies is a very well-made, entertaining movie (I enjoyed it), but was the wrong choice to represent India for the best foreign film category. As expected, it lost.”

Kej added that not only was the selection process wrong, it was the inability to go beyond mainstream Bollywood which was a hurdle to the process. “We cannot look beyond films that we find entertaining. Instead, we should just look for good films made by filmmakers who are uncompromising in their art, star or no star… just great artistic cinema.”

He also highlighted the poster of Laapataa Ladies, saying that most Academy voting members dismissed the film just by looking at the poster.

Both Kej and Mehta won unanimous support for their posts. “The road to the Oscars is tricky, we require strategic campaigns and a proper selection process. We seem disconnected from it all. Payal Kapadia’s film was perfect for the Oscar palate,” a filmmaker noted.

Film Analyst Girish Wankhede said, “Laapataa Ladies may have been a lightweight in the landscape of global cinema. Films like The Zone of Interest, Parasite and Roma exemplify a certain finesse in narrative structure and thematic exploration. These films address profound issues, showcasing a filmmaking style that has been embraced and recognised on the international stage. On the other hand, though Laapataa Ladies presents a compelling narrative with strong character development and significant themes, its execution leans too heavily into melodrama, and fails to achieve the necessary subtlety that resonates with global audiences.”

India’s Oscar run has been lacklustre so far, the selection of films sparking controversy. The FFI has been called out often for its Bollywood-fixation, as well as political biases.

Only three Indian movies — Mehboob Khan’s Mother India (1957), Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay! (1988) and Lagaan (2001) – made it to the nominations (They didn’t clinch the coveted statuette though).

So why is India a no-show at the Mecca of Film Awards? Film critic Joginder Tuteja says the reason is simple. “We need to make something that cuts across boundaries, and makes it to the global arena. Which we haven’t been doing. We can keep debating between Bollywood and regional content, but let’s accept that we haven’t been able to create something that makes the right noise. Having said that, I also don’t understand our fixation with awards which have been created by Hollywood. This is counterproductive, because 80 per cent of the films which win are not commercial films, so is that what you want to focus on?”

That’s an interesting point of view. However, in the last few years, India has found success in non-narrative categories — ‘Naatu Naatu’ in SS Rajamouli’s RRR won the Best Original Song in 2023 and The Elephant Whisperers won Best Documentary Short.

A touch of India at the Oscars

Sandhya Suri’s Santosh, starring Shahana Goswami, will now proceed to the next round of voting for final nominations. Screened at MAMI and Cannes, the film follows the story of a woman who takes on her late husband’s role as a constable after his death. Her first case, involving the murder of a 14-year-old Dalit girl whose body is found in the village well, exposes her to the casteism around her. Meanwhile, the live-action short film Anuja, produced by Guneet Monga Kapoor, is still in the race. The film tackles child labour in the garment industry and stars actors such as Nagesh Bhonsle.