Laapataa Ladies talks about women’s freedom and agency, say producers Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao

India’s official entry to the Oscars 2025, Laapataa Ladies, now rechristened as Lost Ladies, is a ‘very important’ film that talks about women’s freedoms and agency, financial independence, ‘ability to imagine your own futures’ and more, its producers Kiran Rao and Aamir Khan said.

“When I heard the story, it really felt very personal to me because I’ve seen so many women who have not had the agency, the choice that I’ve had in my life to do as I please,” Rao said at a special screening of Lost Ladies in New York.

“It felt like an amazing story to be able to talk about women’s freedom, financial independence, ability to imagine your own future, which is a luxury for most women in very traditional societies,” she added. Rao, the film’s director, said the movie gave her the chance to use a ‘comedy of errors’ to actually examine deeply entrenched patriarchy.

Rao, Khan and Jio Studios’ president — Chairman’s Office, Media and Entertainment — Jyoti Deshpande are currently travelling across the US, headlining special screenings and interacting with audiences about their movie. The film has been produced by Aamir Khan Productions, Kindling Pictures and Jio Studios. After screenings and discussions in New York, the team is now in Los Angeles as the Oscars Shortlists will be announced on December 17 and the nominations on January 17.

The 97th Oscars will take place on March 2, 2025.

Speaking at the special screening hosted by fashion designer Prabal Gurung in downtown Manhattan, Khan recalled that he ‘just loved the script’ when he first read. “The script touched me. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It was very entertaining. It was also saying such important things,” he said.

Khan, whose movie Lagaan was nominated for the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category in 2002, expressed hope that Lost Ladies connects with the audience in a ‘deep way, in a way that really makes you feel fulfilled, nice and warm inside, and affects you. And so far, I think people have liked it, and they have connected rather deeply with the film’.

He added, “Each film has its own journey and each film has its own voice. Ultimately, as filmmakers, it’s our film till the day it’s released and then it belongs to the audience.”

Rao said the film was made to ‘spark conversations’. “I hope it continues to do that. I hope it makes people be kind to one another, to go out and give all the women in their lives a big hug, to hold each other up, to support each other,” she said.

The movie follows the story of two brides, named Phool and Jaya, who accidentally get swapped during a train journey. It stars Nitanshi Goel and Pratibha Ranta in the lead roles. It also stars Sparsh Shrivastava, Ravi Kishan, Chhaya Kadam, Rachna Gupta and Geeta Aggarwal Sharma. — PTI