Oscars 2025: Kiran Rao gets emotional as her film Laapataa Ladies couldn't make it to shortlist

Kiran Rao returned to the director’s chair and came up with the comedy-drama film Laapataa Ladies. Even though the movie was released last year, it is still being showered with big love from fans and critics alike. The film was selected as India’s official entry for the 97th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category. But the filmmaker got emotional when it didn’t make it to the Academy Awards shortlist this year.

Laapataa Ladies was screened at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival in 2023 and even won the Best Film (Critics' Choice) at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. Hence, when it was selected as the Indian entry for the 97th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film, everyone had their hopes high. But sadly, the movie didn’t get nominated, breaking many hearts, including Kiran Rao’s.

Hence, on December 18, the official Instagram handle of the movie dropped a lengthy note informing fans that the movie did not make it to the Academy Awards this year. Soon after, Kiran reshared the post on her Instagram handle with an emotional emoji along with a red heart and folded hand emoticon.

Take a look:

In the emotional note dropped by the official social media handle of Laapataa Ladies, the team expressed disappointment in not making it to the Academy Awards. However, they were immensely grateful for the incredible support and belief received throughout this journey.

A part of their note read, “We extend our gratitude to the Academy members and the FFI jury for considering our film. To be included in this prestigious process alongside some of the finest films from across the world is an honor in itself. Our heartfelt thanks to all the audiences around the world who have expressed their love and support for our film.”

In conclusion, the team also congratulated all the top 15 shortlisted films and wished them the very best in the next stages of the awards. While Laapataa Ladies didn’t make it, Shahana Goswami’s Hindi-language movie Santosh got shortlisted for Oscars as the United Kingdom’s entry in the Documentary Short Film category.

ALSO READ: Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies out of Oscars 2025 race as Academy announces shortlist; Guneet Monga’s Anuja makes the cut in live-action shorts category