Laapataa Ladies selection at Oscars: Indian film body’s description of the film garners backlash

The description of Indian women in the first line of the citation read, “mix of submission and dominance,” which has ignited rage among audiences.

Recently, Kiran Rao-directed Laapata Ladies made it as an official entry from India to the Oscars. However, on Monday, the Film Federation of India (FFI) was widely criticized after they announced their selection of “Laapataa Ladies” as India’s official entry to the Oscars. In a now-viral document, the jury cited Indian women as a “strange mix of submission and dominance” as they went ahead describing why they chose the film.

FFI was criticized for the description of Indian women and also for neglecting other films.

The Film Federation of India has now been criticized not just for the description of Indian women in their document but also for neglecting other films like “All We Imagine As Light,” which hardly managed to reach the shortlist even after winning the prestigious Cannes Grand Prix this year. The Oscar entry has divided the internet as they thought better films were made in India than Laapataa Ladies over the last year.

Citation from FFI receives flak for multiple reasons.

FFI citation was slammed by the public for multiple reasons, one being the “offensive” definition of Indian women and the second being no women representation in the jury. A person shared the list of 13 names from the FFI jury responsible for selecting the Oscar entry, noting that no woman was included. This further led to an outrage among netizens, especially due to the following description of Indian women as a “mix of submission and dominance” in the first line of the citation.

Netizens react to the citation by the FFI.

In a sarcastic tone, one user wrote, “Nice to see so many women on the committee! No wonder why the citation is against the film itself. #ffindia #LaapataaLadies.” Another wrote, “FFI’s citation for the Oscar pick is the weirdest reading of #LaapataaLadies. So awfully patronizing of women in general; forget Indian women alone. Written by a man suffering from a superiority complex? What does “strange mix of submission & dominance” even mean! Offensive!” One more wrote, “Film Federation of India’s citation on “Laapataa Ladies. Indian women are a ‘strange mixture of submission and dominance.’ ‘Strange mixture’? Really!!?? That’s the best you could come up with as an opening line.”