India's official entry for the Best International Feature category at the 97th Academy Awards, Laapataa Ladies, has been eliminated from the Oscars race. Directed by Kiran Rao, the Hindi film did not secure a place in the shortlist of 15 features competing for a spot in the final five, as announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on Wednesday.
British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri's Santosh, featuring Indian actors Shahana Goswami and Sunita Rajwar, has made it to the Oscars shortlist in the Best International Feature category. Representing the UK, the film joins other shortlisted entries, including France's Emilia Pérez, Brazil's I'm Still Here, Canada's Universal Language, Czech Republic's Waves, Denmark's The Girl with the Needle, and Germany's The Seed of the Sacred Fig. India's official entry, Laapataa Ladies, directed by Kiran Rao, did not make the cut.
The list of contenders for the Best International Feature category at the 97th Academy Awards includes Touch (Iceland), Kneecap (Ireland), Vermiglio (Italy), Flow (Latvia), Armand (Norway), From Ground Zero (Palestine), Dahomey (Senegal), and How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies (Thailand). India's official entry, Laapataa Ladies, directed by Kiran Rao, did not make it to the shortlist, while British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri's Santosh, featuring Shahana Goswami and Sunita Rajwar, representing the UK, secured a spot.
The final nominations will be revealed on January 17, with 85 countries or regions having submitted films for the International Feature Film category. Santosh, Suri's directorial debut, tells the story of a newly widowed housewife (Goswami) who inherits her late husband's role as a police constable and becomes involved in the investigation of a young girl's murder.
India's official entry Laapataa Ladies is a feminist drama set in rural India in the early 2000s, written by Sneha Desai and based on a story by Biplab Goswami. The film follows two brides, Phool and Jaya, who are swapped on their wedding day during a train ride. Starring Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, and Sparsh Shrivastav, with a supporting cast including Chhaya Kadam, Ravi Kishan, and Geeta Agrawal Sharma, the film premiered at TIFF 2023 and received positive reviews upon its March 1 release. It is produced by Kiran Rao’s Kindling Productions, Aamir Khan Productions, and Jyoti Deshpande of Jio Studios.