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Though mainstream Indian cinema has been making waves across the globe with impressive box office numbers, the industry — comprising numerous regional segments — has yet to make a lasting impact at prestigious award events like the Oscars. However, the landscape is gradually evolving, with Indian films making significant inroads into the international festival circuit and earning accolades. A notable example is director Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light (AWIAL), which has garnered top honours at nearly every festival it has attended this year. Despite its success, AWIAL was passed over as India’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards in favour of Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies.
Although AWIAL brought home the Grand Prix — the second-highest award at the Cannes Film Festival after the Palme d’Or — its exclusion as India’s Oscar entry sparked widespread debate. Many pointed to power politics in the selection process, especially since Laapataa Ladies is co-produced by Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan. However, some have argued that Aamir’s involvement could be advantageous, as his star power might draw the attention of members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), who vote for the awards.
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Strengthening this argument, a report has emerged that Aamir has joined forces with multiple Oscar-winning Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón for Laapataa Ladies’ (released internationally as Lost Ladies) Academy Awards campaign. Cuarón, known for films like Y Tu Mamá También (2001), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Children of Men (2006), Gravity (2013) and Roma (2018), and the series Disclaimer (2024), will host a special screening of the film in London. Notably, Cuarón’s Roma won the Best International Feature Film Oscar in 2018, the same category in which Laapataa Ladies now competes.
This Oscar bid holds particular significance for Aamir Khan, whose Lagaan (2001) remains the most recent Indian film to receive a nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category, following Mother India (1957) and Salaam Bombay! (1988). Reflecting on the campaign process, Aamir told Variety, “Your effort is to get your film seen by them (members of the Academy), and their attention onto your film. And then once they see it, it’s really up to them. That’s what we did in Lagaan. That’s what we’re doing here.”
Cuarón is set to host a screening of Laapataa Ladies in London on December 5. “It just shows that there are different filmmakers around the world who are willing to champion the film,” Jyoti Deshpande of Jio Studios, who co-produced the movie with Aamir and director Kiran, said. “India has done a lot for the global film industry, in terms of the number of films it makes, the number of languages we have, how rich in culture we are… I think India has come of age and deserves to win an Oscar.”
Meanwhile, the overlooked AWIAL continues its phenomenal run on the festival circuit, collecting more prestigious awards with each outing. Just recently it won the Best International at the New York Film Critics Circle and the Best International Feature trophy at the reputed Gotham Awards 2024.
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