Laapataa Ladies, India’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards, has been rejected for the Oscars shortlist, sparking massive criticism from analysts and social media users alike.
Many prominent figures, including filmmaker Hansal Mehta, took to X to express their frustration.
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He said, “Film Federation of India does it again! Their strike rate and selection of films year after year is impeccable.”
Ricky Kej, a Grammy-winning composer stated, “When are we going to realise… year after year… we are choosing the wrong films? There are so many excellent movies made, and we should be winning the #InternationalFeatureFilm category every year!”
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The general sentiment on social media also aligns with these views. While people have praised the film for its brilliance, many have said that the film should not have been considered for the Oscars in the first place.
The Film Federation of India (FFI) came forward to defend itself, with jury head Jahnu Barua urging the country to accept the democratic process of selection based on the ‘Indianness’ of a film.
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On being questioned about Payal Kapadia’s ‘All We Imagine As Light’ being a better choice, he replied that the film was ‘very poor technically’.
Actress Chhaya Kadam expressed her sadness for Kiran Rao as she said, “I want to give her some time. She had just returned to India from the USA, where she had been for about a month.”
With all of India’s hopes now pinned on Guneet Monga’s live-action short film Anuja, people are hopeful of the chances, however slim they might be.
