The Academy Awards acknowledge exceptional achievements in filmmaking across a variety of categories, including the prestigious Best International Feature Film. People recognize them as one of the top awards in the film industry. Countries from all over the world submit their best movies each year in the hopes of earning a prestigious nomination that will help them become more famous in the film industry.
India has officially selected “Laapata Ladies,” directed by Kiran Rao, to represent the country in the highly competitive Best International Feature category at the 2025 Oscars.
The Film Federation of India announced on Monday that “Laapata Ladies” had won out of 29 feature films submitted, representing various Indian regions and languages.
This selection highlights India’s diverse and rich cinematic scene, which includes everything from popular Bollywood movies to indie regional films. The variety of films that made the cut speech to the nation’s storytelling skill and cultural diversity. Several high-profile movies were among the significant ones that “Laapata Ladies” outperformed. “Animal,” starring Ranbir Kapoor, is a much-awaited action thriller. “Kalki 2898 AD” is a futuristic science fiction epic starring Prabhas and Deepika Padukone.
Apart from these high-profile projects “Laapataa Ladies” also won over other National Award-winning movies. “Aattam” and “All We Imagine As Light” were two significant competitors. The latter was acknowledged at the Cannes Film Festival. This demonstrated the high standard of opposition the movie faced.
Numerous other Hindi-language movies were competing for this prestigious title. Among them were the moving biopic “Chandu Champion” by Kartik Aaryan. Futhermore, the lineup also included the sports drama “Maidaan” by Ajay Devgan.”Maidaan” tells the story of Indian football coach Syed Abdul Rahim. “Article 370”, Yami Gautam’s politically mixed thriller, was competing for the same position. The competition included extra contenders like Rajkummar Rao’s suspenseful crime thriller “Srikanth.”
It also featured Randeep Hooda’s biographical film “Swatantrya Veer Savarkar,” centered around the controversial independence fighter. Action-packed movies such as “Kill and Good Luck” were part of the lineup. The biography of India’s renowned Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, “Sam Bahadur,” starring Vicky Kaushal, added even more diversity. This lineup covered a wide range of genres.
The three films that the Telugu film industry submitted this year are “Kalki 2898 AD”, “Mangalavaaram” and the highly regarded superhero movie “Hanu-Man” had a big impact. This participation reflects the increasing prominence of regional cinema in India’s overall film production, further enhancing the competitive environment.
In the backdrop of rural India, Kiran Rao’s “Laapataa Ladies” presents a humorous examination of patriarchy. India’s choice of “Laapata Ladies” as its representative film highlights the nation’s commitment to diverse narratives.
It also positions the film as a strong candidate for an Oscar nomination. Furthermore, the film is expected to connect with viewers worldwide because of its unique story and cinematography. Consequently, many hope this movie will help India secure another nomination for the Academy Awards. This would further establish India’s standing in the global film scene.
