Filmmaker Kiran Rao is ecstatic to learn that her second directorial venture, Laapataa Ladies has been selected as India’s official entry to the 2025 Academy Awards. Starring Nitanshi Goel, Sparsh Shrivastava, and Pratibha Ranta, the film follows the story of two brides who get exchanged during their train journey. Kiran recently pointed out the importance of humor while addressing ‘uncomfortable issues’ of women in films. The director expressed that no one wants to go through a lecture in cinema.
During her session, Take II: How Women are Redefining Indian Cinema at India Today Conclave 2024, Kiran Rao highlighted that she uses humor to discuss women’s ‘uncomfortable’ issues in films.
“We wanted to integrate these issues into the story through humour because no one wants a lecture when they go to the cinema. I genuinely believe humor is one of the best ways to tackle some of the most uncomfortable issues,” Rao said.
Kiran Rao spoke about the need to make more female-centric films in our cinema. Rao stressed that filmmakers should focus on more women-centric movies and that they invest more in female storytellers, female producers, actresses, and projects helmed by women. The Laapataa Ladies director continued that she wants to tell stories that revolves around interesting female characters.
Talking about her inspiration behind helming Laapataa Ladies, Kiran Rao spilled the beans by saying that the story of two girls searching for freedom, opportunity, and a voice spoke to her. Rao further expressed that she felt to keep its story “rooted and organic” to make it look believable and that the audience would enjoy the film. The filmmaker noted that it was one of the main reasons the audience positively responded to her latest directorial.
Kiran Rao further discussed how casting newcomers in Laapataa Ladies worked out in her favor. Rao stated that the audience didn’t recognize the fresh casting allowing the cine-goers to focus mainly on the world of the film.
Earlier, Kiran Rao dropped a lengthy note on Instagram after Laapataa Ladies was selected as India’s official entry to the upcoming Academy Awards, Rao stated that she feels deeply honored and beyond delighted that her directorial was chosen to represent India at the Oscars.
Meanwhile, Aamir Khan expressed his feelings after the 2024 film was selected as India’s official entry to the prestigious awards. Aamir stated that he is quite happy with the latest achievement and that the superstar is proud of the team including his former wife, Rao. The Laal Singh Chaddha actor also thanked the selection committee of the Film Federation of India for choosing their film.
Led by Assamese director Jahnu Barua, the 13-member committee of the organization selected Kiran and Aamir’s film, Laapataa Ladies as the official entry to the Oscars.
In a recent interview with India Today, Nitanshi Goel, who played the role of Phool Kumari in Kiran Rao’s directorial, spilled the tea about how she celebrated the latest achievement of the film. Nitanshi shared that the team had a “little celebration moment in their WhatsApp Group.
The 17-year-old star added that she waited for the director to confirm if their film was indeed selected as India’s official entry for the Academy Awards. Nitashi continued that she couldn’t believe the Laapataa Ladies reached this milestone. After the confirmation, she had a “little dance party” in her room.
Co-produced by Kiran Rao and Aamir Khan, Laapataa Ladies was released on March 1, 2024.