FFI President slams Swatantrya Veer Savarkar makers claiming film is 'officially' submitted to Oscars: 'They have...'

A day after Laapataa Ladies was officially selected by the Film Federation of India (FFI) as India's official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards or the Oscars 2025 on Monday, the producers of Swatantrya Veer Savarkar made an announcement that their Randeep Hooda-starrer film has been 'officially' to the 'Oscars 2024' on Tuesday.

Sharing the film poster that read 'officially submitted for the Oscars 2024', the Swatantrya Veer Savarkar producer wrote on his Instagram, "Honored and humbled! Our film Swatantrya Veer Savarkar has officially been submitted for the Oscars. Thank You Film Federation of India for this remarkable appreciation. This journey has been incredible, and we are immensely grateful to everyone who has supported us along the way."

Now, the FFI President Ravi Kottakara has slammed this claim. Talking to HT City, he said, "They (the makers of Savarkar) have given some wrong communication. I am going to release a statement about it as well. Only Laapataa Ladies has been sent for Oscars from India officially." The film's co-producer Anand Pandit told the portal, "I didn’t know when the film was submitted; I was told about it on Monday. Going to the Oscars is a big milestone. I am, of course, very happy."

Headlined and helmed by Randeep Hooda in his directorial debut, Swatantrya Veer Savarkar is based on the life of one of India's most controversial revolutionaries and political figures Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The historical biographical drama was released in the theatres on March 22.

On the other hand, Laapataa Ladies marks Kiran Rao's directorial comeback after 11 years since her debut film Dhobi Ghat released in 2010. A light-hearted satire on patriarchy, the social comedy drama features Pratibha Ranta, Nitanshi Goel, Sparsh Shrivastav, Ravi Kishan, and Chhaya Kadam in the leading roles. It is produced by Rao's Kindling Productions, Aamir Khan Productions, and Jio Studios. 

READ | Laapataa Ladies beat 28 films to become India's entry for Oscars 2025; list included Animal, Kalki 2898 AD, HanuMan

The DNA app is now available for download on the Google Play Store. Please download the app and share your feedback with us.