The journey has just begun for "Laapataa Ladies" at Oscars 2025, says director Kiran Rao while admitting she is still in a state of "slight shock" to find that her film will represent the country at the Academy Awards.

The Film Federation of India, which selects entries for the best international film category at Oscars, on Monday picked "Laapataa Ladies" from among 29 titles as India's official selection. "The journey has only just begun with being chosen as India's entry to the Oscars. It's a long and hard journey because there's a lot of expertise, money, and support required and campaign strategy that one has to develop and carry through. We will put our best foot forward and try our best to take the film as far as it goes down this road towards the Oscars," Rao told PTI in an interview.

The filmmaker said she initially thought it was a prank when the first call came through but she is "delighted and humbled" at the honour of representing the country though "Laapataa Ladies". She produced the film via her Kindling Pictures with former husband Aamir Khan and his banner AKPPL and Jyoti Deshpande of Jio Studios.

"I've not had a moment to breathe and soak it in entirely. But I spoke to Aamir and a few of my actors and team when we got the news. It is a moment of collective joy and disbelief! We’ve poured so much of ourselves into this film," she said.

"Laapataa Ladies", starring Nitanshi Goel and Pratibha Ranta, is a heartwarming and empowering take on two brides in rural India in 2001 who accidentally get swapped during a train journey. It also stars Sparsh Shrivastav, Ravi Kishan, Chhaya Kadam and Geeta Aggarwal Sharma.

Based on a story by Biplab Goswami with screenplay and dialogues by Sneha Desai and additional dialogues by Divyanidhi Sharma, the film released in theatres on March 1 to great reviews. And now that a 13-member select committee, led by Assamese director Jahnu Barua, unanimously decided on "Laapataa Ladies" for the best international category at Oscars, Rao hopes it resonates with the international audiences the way it did at home.

"We are grateful for this recognition and excited about the journey ahead... It is a moment of collective joy and disbelief! We’ve poured so much of ourselves into this film... The first step for all of us is to create a plan by pooling in the collective expertise and also learning from those who have walked this path before.

"While it is an expensive undertaking, we are hopeful that we can build the right support system, both within the industry and through international platforms, to promote the film effectively,” she added.

The director said she first called Khan when she found out that "Laapataa Ladies" was set to represent India at the Oscars.

"Aamir was the first person I spoke to. My producer, the person who found the script for me. We congratulated each other," she said.

Rao said Khan's experience and deep understanding of the international film landscape, owing to the campaign of his 2001 film "Lagaan" would come in handy.

"Lagaan", set in the pre-independence era, was the last Indian film to enter the top five nominations in the best international feature film category (formerly called best foreign film) at Oscars 2002.

Only two other films have previously made it to the final five and they are the Nargis-starrer “Mother India” and Mira Nair's “Salaam Bombay!” "I can only pray and hope that I follow in Lagaan's footsteps to be nominated in the top five... Aamir’s been through this process before, and his insights will definitely help us make informed decisions. Having his guidance will be a great asset as we navigate the road ahead,” said Rao, who served as an assistant director on "Lagaan".

About the time the Ashutosh Gowariker directorial made it to the Oscars, she recalled "cheering from the sidelines during that incredible journey".

"It was inspiring to see how the team navigated the Oscars and created such an impact. I've learned a lot from that experience, which will certainly help in shaping our approach this time," she said.

Rao said the 2023 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, where "Laapataa Ladies" had its world premiere, proved to be a "great launchpad" for the film.

"It really exposed us to a huge market in North America. All the other films and filmmakers who came there heard about the film and we had such a great reception there that it gave us a lot of confidence also in our marketing for India and taking it to other countries," she said.

She is now gearing up for the release of the movie in Japan theatres on October 4.

"We're hoping for more international releases after that as well. It (Toronto) was great to start it off on an international journey from last year. Thanks to that, we have some sort of an insight into what we should be doing, how we should be pushing the film going forward in the Oscar journey.

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