Kiran Rao Encourages Women to Stand Up: Aamir Khan Under Spotlight as She Reveals Secrets of Campaign until Oscars 2025; ‘I’m Still Learning’
Kiran Rao is currently overjoyed as her directorial Laapataa Ladies has been selected as India’s official entry for the Oscars 2025. While being chosen for the Academy Awards is a significant achievement, the campaign process plays a crucial role in advancing to the finals. Rao has now shared her plans, revealing that it’s certainly new to her and it is time to ask help from Aamir Khan and Ashutosh Gowariker, who previously secured an Oscar nomination for Lagaan.
In an interview with India Today, Rao was asked about the campaign for Laapataa Ladies leading up to the Oscars finale. She responded, “We are fortunate to have AKP, Jio Studios, Netflix, and several other great studios involved in the making and journey of this film. We will soon begin strategizing and developing a campaign. It’s incredibly challenging because so many countries are represented, so it’s not just about expertise but also the budget—money invested, understanding how to position the film, reaching Academy members, and a lot of publicity.”
She added, “It’s a long journey, and I’m certainly new to it. I observed it 24 years ago with Lagaan, but I had nothing to do with the campaign then. Now is the time to ask Ashu and Aamir what they did and learn some lessons from them.”
During a special event in Chennai, a 13-member committee from The Film Federation of India, chaired by Assamese director Jahnu Barua, selected the Aamir Khan-backed film as India’s official submission for the 97th Academy Awards. The film is set to compete in the Best Foreign Film category.
The prestigious list of contenders featured several notable films, including Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal, the Malayalam National Award winner Aattam, Tamil film Maharaja, Cannes Film Festival winner All We Imagine As Light, and Telugu films Kalki 2898 AD and Hanu-Man. Additionally, Randeep Hooda’s Swatantraya Veer Savarkar and Yami Gautam’s Article 370 were in the running.
Kiran Rao’s latest directorial effort, Laapataa Ladies, marks her second film following her 2010 debut with Dhobi Ghat. The movie, which stars Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, and Ravi Kishan, focuses on the story of two recently married brides. It had its premiere in March this year and is currently streaming on Netflix.
ALSO READ: Laapataa Ladies: Aamir Khan is ‘so proud of Kiran Rao and her entire team’ as movie makes it to Oscars 2025; ‘hard-work has paid off’