Hansal Mehta Slams FFI After ‘Laapataa Ladies’ Exit From Oscars 2025

India’s official entry for the 97th Academy Awards, Kiran Rao’s satire Laapataa Women, has did not make it to the shortlist within the Greatest Worldwide Characteristic class. The movie was chosen by the Movie Federation of India (FFI) in September from a pool of 29 movies, together with notable titles like Animal, Aattam, and All We Think about As Gentle.
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta expressed his disappointment on X, sarcastically criticizing the FFI’s poor “strike fee” in deciding on movies for the Oscars. Sharing the shortlist, he wrote, “Movie Federation of India does it once more! Their strike fee and number of movies yr after yr is impeccable.”

Movie Federation of India does it once more! Their strike fee and number of movies yr after yr is impeccable. pic.twitter.com/hiwmatzDbW

— Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) December 17, 2024

Grammy-winning composer Ricky Kej additionally voiced his disapproval, stating that whereas Laapataa Women was a well-made and entertaining movie, it was not the fitting option to signify India within the worldwide class. He shared his ideas alongside the movie’s posters, reiterating his perception that the choice was certain to fail.

See Additionally: Aamir Khan on Laapataa Ladies’ Oscar 2025 Snub

So, the @TheAcademy Oscars shortlist is out. #LaapataaLadies is a really nicely made, entertaining film (I loved it), however was completely the unsuitable option to signify India for one of the best #InternationalFeatureFilm class. As anticipated, it misplaced.
When are we going to comprehend.. yr… pic.twitter.com/iWGpSXY1KD

— Ricky Kej (@rickykej) December 18, 2024

The Oscars shortlist snub has reignited criticism of the FFI’s choice course of, with business voices urging a extra strategic method to selecting movies that align with Academy voters’ preferences.