New Delhi:
The selection of Laapataa Ladies as India’s official entry for Oscars 2025 is making headlines. Amidst the excitement, let’s recall a statement made by Amitabh Bachchan, where he emphasised the importance of valuing our own country’s awards. When Big B was chosen as India’s Prime Icon for 2012 at the CBS/Big FM Awards, he remarked, “First of all, we have to accept that it (Oscars) is the foremost award. In my view, it is for a different field, cinema of a different kind and language. We should feel proud of our own country and its awards,” as per an IANS report.Amitabh Bachchan added, “If any other country feels that we deserve any of their awards, then it would be an honour for us.”Coming back to Laapataa Ladies, it has been selected as India’s official entry for the  Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars 2025. Directed by Kiran Rao, the film tells the story of two young brides who get lost on a train. They end up in unexpected locations and face various challenges. It explores the theme of women’s empowerment. Headlined by Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta and Sparsh Shrivastav, the movie also features Chhaya Kadam and Satendra Soni in significant roles. Laapataa Ladies is produced by Jio Studios, Aamir Khan Productions and Kindling Pictures. The film is available for streaming on Netflix.On Monday, ​news agency ANI announced Laapataa Ladies’ selection as India’s official Oscar entry by sharing a post on X (formerly Twitter). They uploaded an image of a citation from the Film Federation of India.  A part of the citation read, “Indian women are a strange mixture of submission and dominance. Well-defined, powerful characters in one world a LAAPATAA LADIES (Hindi) captures this diversity perfectly, though in a semi-idyllic world and in a tongue-in-cheek way. It shows you that women can happily desire to be home makers as well as rebel and be entrepreneurially inclined.”Meanwhile, Amitabh Bachchan was last seen in Kalki 2898 AD. The Nag Ashwin directorial also features Deepika Padukone, Prabhas, Kamal Haasan and Disha Patani in pivotal roles.