Comments On Indian Women In FFI Jury’s Laapataa Ladies' Citation Draws Flak

The Film Federation of India (FFI) is facing criticism over its citation for Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies, which has been selected as India’s official entry for the Oscars 2025 in the Best Foreign Film category. The jury’s remarks, describing Indian women as a “strange mix of submission and dominance,” have sparked outrage for being patronising and offensive.

Journalist and film critic Namrata Joshi criticised the citation, calling it “the weirdest reading” of Laapataa Ladies. Joshi further added, “So awfully patronising of women in general, forget Indian women alone. Written by a man suffering from superiority complex? What does ‘strange mix of submission & dominance’ even mean! Offensive!”

The FFI selection committee, led by Chairman Jahnu Barua, chose Laapataa Ladies from 29 entries, including 12 Hindi films, 6 Tamil films, and 4 Malayalam films. Despite competition from high-profile films like Animal, Laapataa Ladies emerged as the chosen entry.

The jury’s citation praised the film for capturing the diversity of Indian women, portraying them as both homemakers and entrepreneurs, but critics argue that the wording reduces complex characters to a simplistic, outdated view. The film, set in India’s hinterlands, was noted for its unique storytelling, but the accompanying description by the jury has raised questions about the lens through which it was interpreted.