Kiran Rao, Lost Ladies and India’s Chances At The Oscars - Interview

Laapataa Ladies ke Oscar campaign ki shuruat ho chuki hai! In this exclusive interview, I sat down with director Kiran Rao and producer Jyoti Deshpande to discuss their strategy for the Oscar campaign, the importance of championing non-star films and supporting women storytellers. We also talked about the industry figures who have rallied behind the film and the universal appeal of Laapataa Ladies that resonates across borders and cultures. Don't miss out on this conversation!

0:00 - Highlights
0:39 - Jyoti Deshpande on why Laapataa Ladies stands out
2:29 - The process of writing the script
3:31 - Learning about the Oscars
5:15 - Lost Ladies Oscar strategy
7:04 - "We achieved what we set out to"
8:24 - Support from the industry
9:49 - "Breaking down the star system"
11:28 - Why is it a universal film?
12:30 - Chhaya Kadam as Manju Mai
13:30 - Reaction of a Gram Pradhan to Laapataa Ladies

#LostLadies #LaapataaLadies #aamirkhan #kiranrao

Laapataa Ladies (transl. Lost ladies), released internationally as Lost Ladies, is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film directed by Kiran Rao, and produced by Rao, Aamir Khan, and Jyoti Deshpande. It stars Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Chhaya Kadam and Ravi Kishan, and tells the story of two young newly-wed brides who get exchanged during a train ride to their husband's homes.

It won Best Film (Critics' Choice) at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. The film was selected as the Indian entry for the Best International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards.

Sucharita Tyagi is the newly elected Vice Chairperson of the Film Critics Guild of India. With nearly 20 years of media experience, she is best known for her popular movie reviews on YouTube, where she has built a community of dedicated fans. Now splitting her time between Mumbai and New York, Tyagi also has extensive experience in broadcast radio. With a unique voice, she reviews films and discusses South Asian pop culture with honesty and passion through a contemporary, feminist lens, breaking down complex issues in relatable ways.

Join me!

Be decent people,
Sucharita

[indranidasgupta]

Hear out Biplab interview in a podcast show called Soul connection.. though it’s in Bengali but the germination of idea and how he shaped it should be heard.. certainly big credit goes to Biplab..

[kavt]

I watched Laapata Ladies 2 days ago, thanks to you Sucharita 🤗 and OMG!! What a gem! I am from Suriname and it resonated with me and girls of my community. We are descendants of Bihar, we speak a form of Bhojpuri, so even the language is familiar.
I am telling every woman, man, child to watch this movie because it teaches so much without ever preaching. Thank you creators for this masterpiece ♥️✨

[ChromNewbie]

I wonder why Biplab is not included in this campaign. It’s not about him promoting the movie and how it’s not his prerogative to do so in an Oscar campaign and how only Producer/Director should be a part of the campaign. It is about giving your writers a platform to come forward and speak. Why keep them hidden, away from public eye. Biplab should be publicized more, should get out there and talk about himself and his process. Major credit goes to him. But then we aren’t known to highlight writers, are we?

[RodneyPlonker]

Laapataa is a good film. But not Oscar worthy. This film needs to be at the level of a Roma or Parasite to have any chance of winning.

[affu]

A feedback: I appreciate the feminist lens through which Sucharita dissects a movie but repeating the same tagline over a thousand times- "Women Telling Women's Stories" for the sake of a hike in purchase of her merchandise is really annoying for people who want to watch the interview.

[losifova]

OMG! I just woke up to Aamir in LA because of this movie and learned about Kiran interview also.

I am getting ready for my pom poms !

I absolutely loved this movie, Kiran is such a marvelous story teller, director. I have been a fan of her ever since Dobhi Ghat.

To me Laapata is the best film 2024. I hope academy members get to see it, if they do they will nominated it. Much love to Aamir and Kiran. Thank you for this beautiful film.

[BAILOCHANNANDA-kpgw]

Lost ladies is Oscar worthy definitely
Looking forward with huge enthusiasm

[purplepurrer]

Clueless comments here. What they are doing is a producer's job. Actors don't belong in it at this stage

[mybrickpicks]

First time comment here :-) Love your shows.

Been a Hindi Mother Tongue Indian American for sometime now 2+ Decades. Consider myself a fluent English speaker.

One observation.

I was in consulting and did presentations. One of the first things I learnt is that I used to speak fast like a lot of Indian imports. I was advised to slow down a bit by the Americans here 😊. Such a valuable tip.

[mo.shoyabkhan]

But the irony is that one of the most important "WOMEN" character of the film who is Chhaya Kadam(MANJU MAAI) is not there in any interview or promotions which is strange.
#LaapataLadies 👍🏼

[tapasrout]

It is a good film, but not an Oscar worthy film...

[twc-thewrongchoices]

Hey Sucharita
Why don’t you have a merchandise written “women telling women stories”

[LS]

Good film -- but it is competing with 87 others. First LL has to make it past the first hurdle -- the shortlist to be announced on Dec 17.

Sucharita and these two ladies are already talking about March.😅

[cinnow]

Paid interview. So much for being an independent reviewer.