Grammy winner Ricky Kej says Laapataa Ladies was 'wrong choice' to represent India for Oscars 2025

Laapataa Ladies, which represented India in the Best International Feature category at the 2025 Oscars, was cut from the race on Wednesday as it failed to make it to the final shortlist.

As fans expressed their dissappointment, three-time Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej voiced his opinion, calling it a wrong choice for India to submit the film to the Oscars initially. He tweeted, "So, the @TheAcademy Oscars shortlist is out. #LaapataaLadies is a very well made, entertaining movie (I enjoyed it), but was absolutely the wrong choice to represent India for the best #InternationalFeatureFilm category. As expected, it lost (sic)."

So, the @TheAcademy Oscars shortlist is out. #LaapataaLadies is a very well made, entertaining movie (I enjoyed it), but was absolutely the wrong choice to represent India for the best #InternationalFeatureFilm category. As expected, it lost.
When are we going to realize.. year… pic.twitter.com/iWGpSXY1KD

— Ricky Kej (@rickykej) December 18, 2024

He further mentioned, "When are we going to realize.. 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! Unfortunately we live in a "Mainstream Bollywood" bubble, where we cannot look beyond films that we ourselves find entertaining. Instead we should just look for good films made by film-makers who are uncompromising in their art.. low budget or big budget.. star or no star.. just great artistic cinema (sic)."

Sharing the two official posters of the film, he wrote, "I am sure most academy voting members dismissed the film just by looking at these (sic)."

Kiran Rao's directorial Laapataa Ladies, which was India's official entry to the Best Foreign Language Film category, is out of the Oscars race.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the shortlists in 10 categories for the upcoming 97th Oscars ceremony on Tuesday (local time). Unfortunately, the list didn't include the Laapataa Ladies, leaving the Indian audience disappointed.

Directed by Kiran Rao and produced under the banners of Aamir Khan Productions, Kindling Pictures, and Jio Studios, Laapataa Ladies was released in theatres on March 1, 2024. It starred Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Ravi Kishan and Chhaya Kadam.

Set against the backdrop of rural India, Laapataa Ladies revolves around the story of two young brides who get exchanged on a train. The film's team including director Kiran Rao and producer Aamir Khan already kickstarted the campaign for Oscars 2025.