Kiran Rao’s satirical film Laapataa Ladies has been selected as India's official entry for the Oscars 2025 in the Best International Feature Film category. The Film Federation of India made the announcement on Monday, following the film’s selection from a pool of 29 feature films across multiple languages.

Laapataa Ladies, a sharp critique of patriarchy, emerged as the top choice, surpassing strong contenders such as Ranbir Kapoor's highly anticipated Animal, the National Award-winning Aattam, and the Cannes Film Festival winner All We Imagine As Light. Other major contenders included Prabhas and Deepika Padukone's sci-fi epic Kalki 2898 AD, which has garnered significant attention globally.

Several other prominent Hindi films were also in the running for India’s official Oscar entry, including Ajay Devgn's Maidaan, Kartik Aaryan's Chandu Champion, Yami Gautam's Article 370, Randeep Hooda's biopic Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, Rajkummar Rao's Srikanth, Vicky Kaushal's Sam Bahadur, and Manoj Bajpayee's intense drama Joram. Additionally, action-packed films like Kill and the ensemble comedy Good Luck were among the submissions.

The Telugu film industry had three notable entries: Kalki 2898 AD, the thriller Mangalavaaram, and the critically acclaimed superhero film Hanu-Man. From Tamil cinema, Maharaja starring Vijay Sethupathi, Thangalaan, Vaazhai, Kottukkali, Jamaa, and Jigarthanda 2 were also submitted.

In Malayalam cinema, the films Aattam, All We Imagine As Light, and Ullozhukku represented the industry’s finest, while Maharashtra submitted Swaragandharva Sudir Phadke and Gharat Ganapati for consideration.

The selection process also included a wide range of other Hindi films, including:
Ajay Devgn's "Maidaan"
Kartik Aaryan's "Chandu Champion"
Yami Gautam's "Article 370"
Randeep Hooda's "Swatantrya Veer Savarkar"
Rajkummar Rao's "Srikanth"
Vicky Kaushal's "Sam Bahadur"
Manoj Bajpayee's "Joram, Kill, and Good Luck"
Other notable contenders from various Indian film industries included:
Telugu: "Kalki 2898 AD," "Mangalavaaram," and "Hanu-Man"
Tamil: "Maharaja" (Vijay Sethupathi and Anurag Basu), "Thangalaan," "Vaazhai," "Kottukkali," "Jamaa," and "Jigarthanda 2"
Malayalam: "Ullozhukku"
Maharashtra: "Swaragandharva Sudir Phadke" and "Gharat Ganapati"

The decision to select Laapataa Ladies was made unanimously by a 13-member committee led by acclaimed Assamese filmmaker Jahnu Barua. Directed by Kiran Rao, the film stars Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Chhaya Kadam, and Ravi Kishan in key roles. Rao's film has been praised for its witty take on social issues, positioning it as a strong contender for global recognition at the 2025 Academy Awards.