Kiran Rao’s film “Missing Ladies” has been selected as India’s official entry for the Oscars 2025, the Film Federation of India announced on Monday.
The light-hearted satire was selected from a list of 29 films, which included Bollywood hit “Animal”, Malayalam National Award winner “Aattam” and Cannes winner “All We Imagine as Light”.
The 13-member selection committee, headed by Assamese director Jahnu Barua, “unanimously” selected “Missing Ladies”, produced by Aamir Khan and Rao, for the best international film category at the Academy Awards.
Besides “Missing Ladies”, Hindi film “Srikanth”, Tamil films “Vaazhhai” and “Thangalan” and Malayalam film “Ullozhukku” were among the top five in the 29-title list.
“Missing Ladies”, released in March, received widespread acclaim from critics. It is a heartwarming and empowering story of two brides in rural India in 2001 who are accidentally switched while travelling on a train. The film is backed by Rao’s Kindling Productions, Aamir Khan Productions and Jio Studios.
Rao said he was “very honoured and pleased” that his film would represent India at the 97th Academy Awards.
He added, “Cinema has always been a powerful medium to connect hearts, transcend boundaries and ignite meaningful conversations. I hope this film will resonate with audiences across the world as it will in India.”
“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the selection committee and everyone who believed in this film. It is truly a great honour to be selected among such amazing Indian films this year – all equally worthy contenders for this honour,” the director said in a statement.
The filmmaker, who is directing “Missing Ladies” after a gap of almost 13 years, said he and his team are looking forward to taking this journey forward “with a lot of enthusiasm”. Rao made his debut in 2010 with “Dhobi Ghat”, which was based on people from different walks of life in Mumbai.
Starring Nitanshi Goyal, Pratibha Ranta and Sparsh Srivastava in the lead roles along with Ravi Kishan, Chhaya Kadam and Geeta Agarwal Sharma, the Hindi film had its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.
Tamil film “Maharaja”, Telugu films “Kalki 2898 AD” and “Hanu-Maan” as well as Hindi films “Swatantrya Veer Savarkar” and “Article 370” were also part of the list.
No Indian entry has been nominated for best international feature film at the Oscars since Khan-starrer “Lagaan” in 2002. Only two other films have made it to the final five before this: Nargis-starrer “Mother India” and Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay!”
The Malayalam superhit “2018: Everyone is a Hero” was released last year.
