Kiran Rao's film Laapataa Ladies, now known as Lost Ladies, did not secure a position on the shortlist for the Best International Feature category at the Oscars 2025, which was revealed on December 17.

In contrast, another film set in India and featuring Indian actors, titled Santosh, has successfully made it to the shortlist from the UK.

Rao's narrative, which explores the coming-of-age experiences of two young brides in rural India who are separated from their husbands, was selected as the official entry for the 97th Academy Awards in September. The selection committee, consisting of 13 members and chaired by Assamese filmmaker Jahnu Barua, noted that Rao's film effectively represented the diversity of Indian women.

Oscars shortlist

The shortlisted films and their respective countries are as follows:

Brazil, "I'm Still Here"

Canada, "Universal Language"

Czech Republic, "Waves"

Denmark, "The Girl with the Needle"

France, "Emilia Pérez"

Germany, "The Seed of the Sacred Fig"

Iceland, "Touch"

Ireland, "Kneecap"

Italy, "Vermiglio"

Latvia, "Flow"

Norway, "Armand"

Palestine, "From Ground Zero"

Senegal, "Dahomey"

Thailand, "How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies"

United Kingdom, "Santosh"

The jury representing India's committee selected Laapataa Ladies from a pool of 29 films submitted in various Indian languages, which included this year’s Cannes Grand Prix winner, All We Imagine as Light, directed by Payal Kapadia. Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao have been actively promoting the film in the United States over the past few weeks. Earlier this month, Alfonso Cuaron facilitated a screening for the BAFTA campaign related to the film.

About Laapataa Ladies

Laapataa Ladies takes place in the fictional state of Nirmal Pradesh in the year 2001, where an unexpected mix-up occurs when two brides are swapped during a train journey. One bride is mistakenly taken home by the groom of the other, while the second bride finds herself abandoned at a railway station. A police officer named Kishan, portrayed by Ravi Kishan, is determined to investigate the situation. This narrative is inspired by an award-winning story written by Biplab Goswami.

The film is produced by Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, and Jyoti Deshpande, under the banners of Aamir Khan Productions, Kindling Pictures, and Jio Studios. Released in March, it stars Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, and Sparsh Shrivastav in leading roles, alongside Ravi Kishan, Chhaya Kadam, and Geeta Aggarwal Sharma.

In the Documentary Feature Film category for the 97th Academy Awards, fifteen films have been shortlisted from a total of 169 eligible submissions. These films were selected by members of the Academy's Documentary Branch and will proceed in the competition for final nominations, which are scheduled to be announced in January 2025.

The shortlisted titles include:

"The Bibi Files"

"Black Box Diaries"

"Dahomey"

"Daughters"

"Eno"

"Frida"

"Hollywood gate"

"No Other Land"

"Porcelain War"

"Queendom"

"The Remarkable Life of Ibelin"

"Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat"

"Sugarcane"

"Union"

"Will & Harper"

Additionally, in the Documentary Short Film category for the 97th Academy Awards, fifteen films have been shortlisted from 104 qualifying entries. The shortlist was determined by votes from members of the Academy's Documentary Branch, and these films will now compete for nominations.

The shortlisted titles are:

"Chasing Roo"

"Death by Numbers"

"Eternal Father"

"I Am Ready, Warden"

"Incident"

"Instruments of a Beating Heart"

"Keeper"

"Makayla's Voice: A Letter to the World"

"Once Upon a Time in Ukraine"

"The Only Girl in the Orchestra"

"Planeswalker"

"The Quilters"

"Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr"

"A Swim Lesson"

"Until

Read Also: India's Laapataa Ladies Excluded from Oscars; Calls for FFI Overhaul Intensify

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