Guneet Monga Kapoor’s Anuja, which addressed child labour, made it onto the Oscars 2025 shortlist, however Laapataa Ladies did not. Santosh from the UK, which starred Indian performers, was also selected.
Laapataa Ladies (renamed Lost Ladies) by Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao failed to make the Oscars 2025 shortlist for Best International Feature. December 17, 2024, saw the release of the list. In contrast, Anuja, directed by Guneet Monga, made progress in the Live Action Short Film category. In the Best International Feature Film category, Santosh, a UK-based movie with Indian performers, has also made it to the shortlist.
Guneet Monga Kapoor’s Anuja earned a place in the Live-Action Shorts Film Category, although Laapataa Ladies did not make the Oscars 2025 shortlist. The problem of child labour in the apparel business is brought to light in the movie. In the meantime, the UK’s official submission this year, Santosh, also entered the shortlist. Only 15 films from 85 countries make it to the Oscar shortlist. This year’s choices include books like From Ground Zero, The Girl With the Needle, and Emilia Perez.
Laapataa Ladies, a coming-of-age film directed by Kiran Rao, is about two young wives in rural India who are split up from their husbands. In September 2024, the film was chosen as India’s official submission for the 97th Academy Awards.
The film was commended by the 13-member selection committee, which was chaired by Assamese director Jahnu Barua, for its depiction of the varied realities of Indian women. Laapataa Ladies was selected as the winner out of 29 submissions in different Indian languages, including the Cannes Grand Prix-winning All We Imagine as Light by Payal Kapadia.
With noteworthy events like a BAFTA campaign screening given by Alfonso Cuarón, Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao have been actively marketing the movie in the United States. The drama, which takes place in 2001 in the imaginary state of Nirmal Pradesh, centres on two brides who are inadvertently switched during a train voyage. The wrong groom takes one bride home, leaving the other stranded at a train station. The investigation is led by Kishan, a police investigator (played by Ravi Kishan). Biplab Goswami’s award-winning narrative served as the inspiration for the movie.
Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, and Jyoti Deshpande produced Laapataa Ladies under the auspices of Jio Studios, Kindling Pictures, and Aamir Khan Productions. Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, and Sparsh Shrivastava star in the March 2024 release, which also features Ravi Kishan, Chhaya Kadam, and Geeta Aggarwal Sharma.
