Laapataa Ladies touched hearts of many in the nation on its release and the film is about to be celebrated internationally as it was India’s official Oscar entry for the coming year. However fans took notice of something else related to the film. The citation shared by Film Federation of India (FFI) for choosing Laapataa Ladies has become somewhat of a controversy.
Now, screenwriter Sneha Desai has opened up about the same and she said she wouldn’t like to “read too much” into it as it could have been drafted by anyone. For the unversed, the citation received a lot of backlash for its choice of worlds. It also brought notice to the 13-member all-male jury of FFI. Fans also came out in support of Kiran Rao’s directorial and said the brief went against the message the film was trying to convey.
The citation by FFI began by saying: “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.”
SEE ALSO: Pratibha Ratna Reacts To Laapataa Ladies’ Oscar Run: ‘Recognition Both Internationally And At Home’
FFI’s citation for the Oscar pick is the weirdest reading of #LaapataaLadies. So awfully patronising of women in general, forget Indian women alone. Written by a man suffering from superiority complex? What does “strange mix of submission & dominance” even mean! Offensive! pic.twitter.com/scYHLC4stM
— Namrata Joshi (@Namrata_Joshi) September 23, 2024
Desai believes that citation is not a clear indication of what the entire association or the jury stands for. She added, “I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt because it could have been drafted by anyone else as well. Yes, they could have been a little careful but I wouldn’t want to read too much into it.”
She also talked about the all male jury and told PTI, “for not having any woman member on the jury is a call I don’t know how they would have taken or the higher powers would have decided. Despite that Laapataa Ladies making it, is again a wonderful thing.”
Celebrating the film’s selection she added, “We are extremely elated… It’s just a very gratifying and wonderful feeling.”
The Hindi film set in the 2000s in rural India is about two brides getting swapped on the day of their wedding during a train ride. The film was chosen as India’s official entry from 29 films including Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal, Malayalam National Award winner Aattam and Cannes winner All We Imagine As Light.
Laapataa Ladies streaming on Netflix is based on a story by Biplab Goswami. It is led by Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, as well as Ravi Kishan and Chhaya Kadam in key roles.
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