Kiran Rao’s rural satire Laapataa Ladies is India’s official entry to Oscars 2025

Filmmaker Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies, an Indian rural arranged marriage comedy of mistakenly swapped bridges that earned critical acclaim and won audience hearts, has been chosen as India’s official entry into the Oscars 2025, media reports said.

The film, a satired set in rural India of 2001, will aim for a nomination in the Best Foreign Film category in the 97th Academy Awards.
Laapata Ladies is satire set in rural India of 2001. Photo credit: Kiran Rao/Jio Studios Instagram handles

The film, a satired set in rural India of 2001, will aim for a nomination in the Best Foreign Film category in the 97th Academy Awards.

Laapataa Ladies, which had a cold run in the box office but grabbed the eyeballs once it was streamed, stars Ravi Kishan, Sparsh Shrivastava, Pratibha Ranta and Nitanshi Goel in distinct roles.

The plot of the film revolves around two brides, who get exchanged on train as they head to the in-laws’ house as the two women in unexpected surroundings make self-discovery journeys.  The story revolves around how the two respective husbands search for their brides whose lives find the path which they had dreamt of.  

Mistakenly swapped en route to their new husbands’ homes, two brides navigate their unexpected surroundings, making delightful self-discovery journeys.

The film, which was produced by Kiran Rao’s former husband, popular actor Aamir Khan, had its theatrical release on December 1, 2023. It premiered on Netflix earlier this year garnering positive responses.