Filmmaker Hansal Mehta and composer Ricky Kej promptly criticized the Film Federation of India following the exclusion of Kiran Rao's satirical film Laapataa Ladies from the shortlist for the Best International Feature category for the Oscars 2025. Hansal pointedly remarked on the FFI's consistently poor “strike rate and selection of films year after year.”

What Hansal, Ricky said

Hansal took to his X account late Tuesday night to announce the shortlist for the Best International Feature category at the 97th Academy Awards. In a sarcastic tone, he remarked in the caption, “The Film Federation of India does it again! Their consistency and film selection year after year is truly remarkable.”

Many users on X resonated with Hansal's viewpoint. One user remarked, “Indian films Laapata!” while another stated, “AWIAL will forever be a what-if,” alluding to Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light, which was widely regarded as a more formidable candidate for India at the Oscars 2025 but was ultimately not chosen by the FFI.

A third user humorously noted, “The non-selection of Bandit Queen was even more amusing. Censors delayed the film's release, preventing it from qualifying,” referencing how Shekhar Kapur's crime drama Bandit Queen was not selected by the FFI as India's official entry for the Oscars in 1995, with the federation opting for PC Sreeram's 1994 Tamil action thriller Kuruthipunal instead.

Grammy Award-winning composer Ricky Kej recently utilized his X account to share several posters for the film Laapataa Ladies. In his accompanying message, he expressed his thoughts: "#LaapataaLadies is a well-crafted and entertaining film (which I personally enjoyed), yet it was an inappropriate selection to represent India in the best #InternationalFeatureFilm category. As anticipated, it did not succeed.

"When will we realize that year after year, we are consistently selecting the wrong films? There exists a plethora of outstanding movies, and we ought to be securing victories in the #InternationalFeatureFilm category annually," he remarked.

"Regrettably, we find ourselves in a 'Mainstream Bollywood' bubble, where we often fail to appreciate films that extend beyond our entertainment preferences. Instead, we should focus on identifying exceptional works created by filmmakers who remain steadfast in their artistic vision, regardless of budget or star power—what truly matters is the quality of the cinema. Below is the poster for #LaapataaLadies; I suspect that many members of the Academy dismissed the film merely based on its appearance," Ricky concluded.

Laapataa Ladies out of Oscars race

The Hindi film directed by Kiran Rao has not been included in the shortlist of 15 features competing for a place among the final five, as announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on Tuesday.

In contrast, British-Indian director Sandhya Suri's film Santosh, featuring Indian actors Shahana Goswami and Sunita Rajwar and representing the UK, has secured a position on the list. This list also comprises entries from France, including Emilia Pérez, as well as I'm Still Here from Brazil, Universal Language from Canada, Waves from the Czech Republic, The Girl with the Needle from Denmark, and The Seed of the Sacred Fig from Germany. The final nominations for the Oscars will be revealed on January 17.

In September, the Film Federation of India (FFI) unanimously selected Laapataa Ladies as India's official submission for the Oscars from a pool of 29 films, which included notable titles such as the Bollywood success Animal, the Malayalam National Award-winning Aattam, and the Cannes award-winning All We Imagine As Light.

Read Also: India's Laapataa Ladies Excluded from 2025 Oscars Shortlist for Best International Feature Category

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