Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies Fails to Make Oscars 2025 Shortlist; UK’s Santosh Advances

Kiran Rao’s critically acclaimed film Laapataa Ladies (retitled Lost Ladies) has not secured a spot in the shortlist for the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards, despite being India’s official entry. The shortlist was announced on December 17, 2024. However, Santosh, a film featuring Indian actors, representing the United Kingdom, has successfully advanced in the race.

In September 2024, Laapataa Ladies was chosen as India’s official Oscar submission by a 13-member committee chaired by Assamese filmmaker Jahnu Barua. "The jury from India’s committee chose Laapataa Ladies from 29 films across various Indian languages that were submitted, including this year’s Cannes Grand Prix winner, All We Imagine as Light, directed by Payal Kapadia." Barua stated that the film "perfectly captured the diversity of Indian women."

Set in 2001 in the fictional state of Nirmal Pradesh, Laapataa Ladies tells a compelling coming-of-age story about two young brides accidentally swapped on a train. One bride is mistakenly taken home by another groom, while the other is left stranded at a railway station. Ravi Kishan portrays a diligent police officer, Kishan, who takes on the case to resolve the confusion. The film is based on an award-winning story by Biplab Goswami and features Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastav, alongside Ravi Kishan, Chhaya Kadam, and Geeta Aggarwal Sharma.

Produced under the banners of Aamir Khan Productions, Kindling Pictures, and Jio Studios, the film was released in March 2024. Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao have been actively campaigning for the film in the U.S., with prominent filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón hosting a BAFTA screening earlier this month.

While India’s official entry did not make the cut, several global films advanced in the Best International Feature Film category. The shortlisted entries include:

-Brazil: I'm Still Here

-Canada: Universal Language

-Czech Republic: Waves

-Denmark: The Girl with the Needle

-France: Emilia Pérez

-Germany: The Seed of the Sacred Fig

-Iceland: Touch

-Ireland: Kneecap

-Italy: Vermiglio

-Latvia: Flow

-Norway: Armand

-Palestine: From Ground Zero

-Senegal: Dahomey

-Thailand: How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies

-United Kingdom: Santosh

The Academy also announced shortlists for the Documentary Feature Film and Documentary Short Film categories. Out of 169 eligible entries, 15 films were shortlisted in the Documentary Feature Film category:

-The Bibi Files

-Black Box Diaries

-Dahomey

-Daughters

-Eno

-Frida

-Hollywoodgate

-No Other Land

-Porcelain War

-Queendom

-The Remarkable Life of Ibelin

-Soundtrack to a Coup d'État

-Sugarcane

-Union

-Will & Harper

Similarly, in the Documentary Short Film category, 15 films from 104 qualifying entries were shortlisted:

-Chasing Roo

-Death by Numbers

-Eternal Father

-I Am Ready, Warden

-Incident

-Instruments of a Beating Heart

-Keeper

-Makayla's Voice: A Letter to the World

-Once Upon a Time in Ukraine

-The Only Girl in the Orchestra

-Planetwalker

-The Quilters

-Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr

-A Swim Lesson

-Until He's Back

Final nominations for the 97th Academy Awards will be announced in January 2025, leading up to the prestigious ceremony.