The Film Federation of India has made its Oscar selection official today after tallying votes from the general house. It has opted for Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies, from a shortlist of 29 titles that included All We Imagine As Light, which emerged winner at Cannes, Aattam from which an award was received at the National Awards, and Kalki 2898 AD.
When asked in a new interview with Indian Express why Laapataa Ladies made the cut, Jahnu Barua, the Assamese filmmaker who head the Film Federation of India jury to pick the title, was candid. “The jury has to look at the right film that represents India on all fronts. Particularly, the film has to represent India’s social systems and ethos. The Indianness is very important and Laapataa Ladies scored on that front.”
The 13-member select committee, chaired by Assamese director Jahnu Barua, ‘unanimously’ chose Laapataa Ladies, produced by Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao, as India’s representative in the best international film category at the Academy Awards.
Laapataa Ladies features new faces Pratibha Ratna, Sparsh Shrivastav, and Nitanshi Goel. The story is set in a fictitious state called Nirmal Pradesh in the year 2001, and revolves around the brides Phool and Pushpa. They get exchanged mistakenly while traveling on a train. Meanwhile, one reaches home in another’s groom, and another is dumped at a railway station. A police officer, Kishan takes it as his personal responsibility to investigate the case. The movie is being presented by Jio Studios and produced by Aamir Khan Productions and Kindling Productions by Kiran Rao. Laapataa Ladies is produced collectively by Kiran, Aamir Khan, and Jyoti Deshpande.
