India has already won! This is the first thought that came to my mind when I heard that Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies has been selected as India’s official entry to Oscars 2025. Who thought that this rural, simple tale about the switching up of brides would make it this big? A story so conventional, slamming the patriarchy and paving the way for the big, bold women has beat many high-profile, big-budget movies to stand where it is today.
Let’s accept it, in Bollywood, beating movies with the likes of Animal, and Kalki 2989 AD (that have literally the brilliant star cast) is no simple feat. The celebration is even double as Laapataa Ladies beats the highly-controversial Ranbir Kapoor starrer Animal, which was branded misogynistic and crude against women for its problematic portrayal of women. So, just for that, this mention truly matters!
Laapataa Ladies was released with no buzz, no A-listers, and not a Gen-Z or youth-centric saga but it still found its audience. This itself speaks volumes about the power of cinema- maybe on odd days!
Now, why I think Laapataa Ladies is a ‘revolution’— because it’s once in a generation that a film leaves such a huge impact on you. Remember the kind of movies that leave a lingering thought afterwards? Where you find yourself revisiting the entire movie in your head and looking for answers. And sometimes, when we don’t get our answers, we straight head to Google and type- “Laapataa Ladies ending”.
Such are the visually striking and compelling movies that stay with you and force you to question your reality and also your surroundings. Being a 23-year-old guy myself who loves and adores his mom and sisters, Laapataa Ladies was an eye-opener for me and helped me understand how deeply problems related to women in our society still persist. We are just 100 days away from entering 2025 and seems like our society hasn’t progressed at all. Even if we might have, slightly, we still reek of sensitivity, lack of opportunity for women, their financial independence, aspirations, self-discovery, and much more.
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Several years back, I remember reading a column by Puja Kaushik that was headlined, “Aakhir kahaan chali jaati hai aapke saath padhane waali ladkiyaan? (After all, where do the girls studying with you go?)”
It struck a chord with me and made me look back and wonder that the women I grew up with actually got lost mid-way and are nowhere to be found. Laapataa Ladies showed a similar story where dreams of many women struggling with oppressive responsibilities die their own deaths and no one even heard a scream.
In the movie, Pratibha Ranta’s character manages to survive and echo her voice but that’s probably very less of what happens on ground level. The Indian cinemagoers should thank Kiran Rao for bringing this story to the big screen because the world must hear these stories that no one wants to tell (because it won’t feed them box office collections).
Another reason why I called Laapataa Ladies a revolution is exactly because of this. Ever since the cinema space has started focusing ONLY on commercialization, stories such as this one have subsided. Especially after the post-pandemic business downfall, taking a risk, or maybe I can say having the heart to put up a tale like this was a move that deserves applause.
Kudos to Aamir Khan and the entire production people for trusting Phool’s determination and Sub-Inspector Shyam Manohar’s flavor. When people thought Laapataa Ladies would maximum go to the level of being labeled as a ‘critically-acclaimed film’, it also emerged as a commercial success considering its small budget. Imagine the monumental feat it received when no one believed in it!
I also called Laapataa Ladies a revolution because it redefined feminism for Indian audiences. It is saddening but the movement of equality has been highly misunderstood in cinema. Some think that women doing what they want is feminism and other sections think that breaking a stereotype will only categorize to be a feminist act. Here, Laapataa Ladies took center stage and answered all curious minds without even mentioning the word.
The tale subtly indicates that Jaya’s ambition to study and make it big was as important as Phool’s longing for her husband and a household. Both acts allowed the women to choose what they wanted to do and what was best for them and that’s feminism redefined for you. It’s not always a trumpet of equality or one gender above the other, it is always- if a man is free of judgments in doing or being allowed to do a certain thing, women should also be freed from such apprehensions.
Not to forget, as much as we need more pure souls like Phool and Jaya in our society, we also deserve Manju Maai (played by Chhaya Kadam). Women who weren’t able to see a great future for themselves but are a ‘girl’s girl’ in their own way. She truly proved that not all harsh words are meant to hurt you but some might build you for better.
I have called Laapataa Ladies a revolution because this movie takes a dig at our society and sets certain boundaries around women. Kiran Rao’s returning to the director’s seat after 14 years couldn’t have been better than this because no one could have justified this story better than her vision.
A moment of appreciation for Biplab Goswami as well because he was the brain behind writing the original story which was developed for the film by Sneha Desai and Divyanidhi Sharma- again two wonderful women who sensed the need of the hour and made sure that they left no stones unturned in bringing this beautifully.
Even if Laapataa Ladies wins a nomination or doesn’t, India has already won. The kind of movies that it beat in the running of becoming the country’s official entry at the 97th Academy Awards is to look out for. Over the years, I am sure, Laapataa Ladies would stand tall as a testimonial of the feminist movement in Indian cinema and people of our age will sip a tea of pride that we were a part of history in making.
My best wishes to the entire team of Laapataa Ladies and Kiran Rao, you should make movies more often (though the wait was truly worth it).
But don’t forget, be it Phool or Jaya, we must remember that ‘Woh Stree hai, kuch bhi kar sakti hai’.
