After Laapataa Ladies' Oscars exit, FFI jury head Jahnu Baruaa slams All We Imagine As Light: 'That film was very...'

Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies has not made to the shortlist of 15 films in the Best International Feature Film category  at the 97th Oscars 2025. Now, the Film Federation of India (FFI) jury head Jahnu Baruaa has defended the choice of picking the film as India's official entry for the Academy Awards.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Baruaa said, "People need to understand that it was a democratic process that one has to go through. And the country needs to accept whatever the verdict is. The jury felt that the films which have gone to the Oscars in the last few years lacked Indian-ness. A film needs to represent the nation. We felt that Laapataa Ladies had all the right elements, and presented the social chaos we go through brilliantly."

Grammy winner Ricky Kej and director Hansal Mehta have slammed FFI saying that Laapataa Ladies was the wrong choice to represent India. Reacting to such people, Jahnu stated, "That is very uncalled for actually. Why should people say such things? It is very unfortunate. People should try to accept it as the jury’s decision. I have had many of my films go to many competitions, at some places they were awarded and at some places they failed to win. That doesn’t mean I should have a negative review of that process. We should be respectful towards the process."

Many film professionals feel Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light should have been sent to the Oscars. The Malayalam language film has been winning top prizes in the international awards. Criticising All We Imagine As Light, the jury head concluded, "The jury felt that film was very poor technically."

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