Laapataa Ladies, India’s official entry to the Oscars 2025, failed to make the cut for the shortlist. Now, Aamir Khan, who produced the film, has reacted to its Oscar exit in an interview with ABP Live. The actor said that it shouldn’t be taken too seriously and shared his thoughts on why the film didn’t make it.
(Also Read: Aamir Khan says it is his ‘dream to make Mahabharat’, wonders if he’ll ‘have a role in it to play’)
Why Laapataa Ladies didn’t make it Oscars 2025
While speaking at the Ideas of India Summit 2025, Aamir was asked about the reason Laapataa Ladies was not shortlisted for the Oscars 2025.
The actor responded, “Kami toh kahin nahi thi. Lekin humein yeh yaad rakhna chahiye ki jab ek film Foreign Language category mein compete karti hai, toh duniya ke jitne desh hai, 80-85 countries had sent their entries, so every country is sending their best film. So that competition is the toughest competition. Oscars ki jo baaki categories hai usse zyada competition Foreign Language mein hota hai (There was no shortcoming anywhere. But we must remember that when a film competes in the Foreign Language category, all the countries in the world—around 80-85 nations—send their entries, meaning each country is sending its best film. So, that competition is the toughest. The competition in the Foreign Language category is even tougher than in other Oscar categories).”
Aamir says it shouldn’t be taken seriously
He further added, “We have to understand that there are other films which are better than this or at the very least, members ko baaki filmein zyada pasand aayi. Iska matlab yeh nahi ki hamari film achhi nahi. Iska matlab yeh hai ki members ko dusri 15 filmein acchi lagi. Yeh bohot hi subjective field hai. How do you compare? Har aadmi ki ek pasand hoti hai. Toh itna seriously nahi lena chahiye. Main toh bilkul nahi leta. (We have to understand that there are other films that are better than this, or at the very least, the members liked other films more. This doesn’t mean that our film isn’t good. It simply means that the members preferred the other 15 films. This is a very subjective field—how do you even compare? Everyone has their own preferences. So, it shouldn’t be taken so seriously. I certainly don’t).”
About Laapataa Ladies
Directed by Kiran Rao and backed by Aamir Khan Productions, Laapataa Ladies is a comedy-drama film starring Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Chhaya Kadam, and Ravi Kishan. It tells the story of two young newlywed brides who are mistakenly exchanged during a train journey to their husbands’ homes. Although unsuccessful at the box office, the film found its audience on OTT and became one of 2024’s favourites among critics and viewers when it was released on Netflix.
Many people expressed excitement when the film was announced as India’s official entry for the Oscars 2025. However, a section of the audience was disappointed with the decision and had hoped that Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light would be India’s official entry instead.