All We Imagine As Light’s Payal Kapadia reacts to Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies being India’s official entry for Oscars 2025: ‘Whatever my film gets…’

All We Imagine As Light’s Payal Kapadia reacts to Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies being India’s official entry for Oscars 2025: ‘Whatever my film gets…’

As a dedicated cinephile who’s been following the Indian and global cinema scene closely, I must say that I’m genuinely thrilled by the selection of Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies as India’s official entry for the 2025 Oscars. Having admired Rao’s directorial prowess in films like Dhobhi Ghat and her unique storytelling approach, I couldn’t be more excited to witness this cinematic journey on the grand stage of the Oscars.


Payal Kapadia’s film All We Imagine As Light (AWIAL) won the prestigious Grand Prix award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. While the film was widely considered an Oscar contender, the selection of Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies over AWIAL, a Malayalam-language Indo-French production set in Mumbai as India’s official entry for the 2025 Oscars sparked some debate. However, in a recent interview, Payal expressed her happiness about Rao’s film being chosen for the Oscars 2025 entry and said that ‘whatever my film gets, it a bonus for me’. 

Payal Kapadia expressed her joy in a conversation with Bombay Times, stating that “Laapataa Ladies” has been chosen as India’s entry for the Oscars, which she described as an enjoyable and delightful film. As a viewer, she is pleased about this selection. Additionally, she shared her appreciation for Kiran Rao’s previous film, “Dhobhi Ghat.

The movie “Laapataa Ladies” has been chosen to represent India in the 2025 Oscars. It went up against stiff competition from films like “Animal” starring Ranbir Kapoor, “Chandu Champion” featuring Kartik Aaryan, “Kalki 2898 AD” with Prabhas, the award-winning Malayalam film “Aattam”, “Shrikanth” starring Rajkummar Rao, and “Sam Bahadur” starring Vicky Kaushal, among others.

Produced jointly by Aamir Khan, the movie garnered notice due to its unique narrative. Starring Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, and Ravi Kishan in prominent positions, Laapataa Ladies focuses on the travels of two newly-married women. This film hit the screens earlier this year.

Kiran Rao shared with PTI that it would fulfill a long-held aspiration of hers if the Laapataa Ladies were chosen for an Oscar nomination.

She admitted that it’s a step-by-step procedure and voiced optimism about her movie being taken into account. She also stated with certainty that in the end, the most outstanding film would be selected, irrespective of the final choice made.

Rao shared that the concept behind Laapataa Ladies originated from her former spouse, Aamir Khan. He had learned about it while serving as a judge during a screenwriting contest.

Rao remembered that Aamir had given her a quick summary of a tale involving two girls traveling by train and somehow exchanging places, which instantly intrigued her. Upon reflection, she understood the narrative wasn’t merely engaging but also a valuable chance for her in her role as a director.

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2024-10-21 10:54