Oscars 2025: India's official entry Laapataa Ladies fails to make it to shortlist

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.

The movie was screened in London recently. On November 12, a new poster for the film was unveiled with the title 'Lost Ladies'. It highlighted a change for international audiences, as the Hindi word Laapataa was translated to its English word, Lost.

Notably, Aamir Khan's classic Lagaan was the last Indian film to enter the top five nominations in the Best International Feature Film category (formerly called Best Foreign Film) at Oscars 2002. The other two instances when an Indian movie made it to the nominations were Mother India (1957) and Salaam Bombay (1988).

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI)