Filmmaker Hansal Mehta has voiced his dissatisfaction with the Film Federation of India (FFI) following the exclusion of Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies from the Oscars shortlist for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Mehta openly criticized the FFI’s selection process and questioned its consistent failure to pick films that make an impact on the global stage.
Sharing a screenshot of the films shortlisted for the category, Mehta sarcastically remarked, “Film Federation of India does it again! Their strike rate and selection of films year after year is impeccable.”
Grammy-winning composer Ricky Kej also joined the conversation, deeming Laapataa Ladies an unsuitable choice to represent India. Kej expressed his disappointment on X, stating, “When are we going to realise… year after year… we are choosing the wrong films? There are so many excellent movies made, and we should be winning the #InternationalFeatureFilm category every year!”
He further criticized the industry’s bias toward mainstream Bollywood, saying, “We live in a ‘Mainstream Bollywood’ bubble, where we cannot look beyond films that we ourselves find entertaining. Instead, we should focus on great artistic cinema—whether low budget or big budget, star-studded or not.”
In September 2023, the FFI, under the leadership of Jahnu Barua, selected Laapataa Ladies as India’s official entry for the Oscars. The decision was made from a pool of 29 films, including Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light and the National Award-winning Aattam. Despite this, Laapataa Ladies failed to secure a spot on the Oscars shortlist.
While Laapataa Ladies is out of the race, there is still hope for Indian representation at the Academy Awards. Santosh, starring Shahana Goswami and directed by British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri, is the UK’s official entry and remains in contention. Additionally, Guneet Monga’s live-action short Anuja has made it to the Oscars shortlist, offering a silver lining for India on the global stage.
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