India’s ‘Laapataa Girls’ OUT of Oscars 2025; UK’s Hindi-language movie ‘Santosh’ shortlisted for ‘Finest Worldwide Function Movie’ |

India’s highway to the Oscars has been a bumpy one. The Academy of Movement Image Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on Wednesday unveiled its shortlist of movies (10 classes) nonetheless within the operating for the Oscars 2025. Sadly for India, The Kiran Rao directorial ‘Laapataa Girls‘, which was the nation’s official entry to the Finest Overseas Language Movie class, was out of the race.
The movie which beat out Payal Kapadia’s ‘All We Think about As Gentle‘ to be chosen as India’s entry, sadly did not make the lower. Nevertheless, one other Hindi language movie titled ‘Santosh’ discovered a spot within the ‘Finest Worldwide Function Movie‘ class.

There among the many 15 movies that had been shortlisted for the Oscars out of 85 whole movies submitted, was this Sandhya Suri directorial which was the UK’s official submission for the Academy Awards 2025. The film additionally premiered on the 77th Cannes Movie Pageant in Could 2024, and was well-received by critics.

The movie’s official synopsis reads, “Ripped from her lifetime of domesticity, Santosh, a younger widow now determined to help herself, accepts a possibility to inherit her husband’s job as a police officer within the rural badlands of India. Shortly taken beneath the wing of Sharma, a charismatic and commanding older feminine inspector, Santosh begins an investigation right into a low-caste woman’s brutal homicide that plunges her right into a gritty world of crime and corruption, forcing her to confront not solely the brokenness of the system round her, however her personal place inside it.”
The movie stars Shahana because the pushed younger Hindu widow who finds herself caught up in institutional corruption. The movie additionally stars Sunita Rajwar because the rough-edged veteran detective Inspector Sharma, inspecting the brutal homicide of a Dalit woman.
Reacting to this “little glory”, Shahana took to Instagram and expressed her happiness in a submit that learn, “So glad for the staff particularly our writer-director Sandhya Suri for this little glory of recognition for our movie Santosh! How unbelievable to be shortlisted from amongst 85 movies. Thanks to everybody who cherished it, supported it and voted for it.”
The movie’s manufacturing home additionally congratulated the staff in a submit that learn, “Congrats to Sandhya Suri and the complete #Santosh staff on making the shortlist for the 97th Academy Awards’ Finest Int’l Function class! SANTOSH opens NYC’s @IFCCenter Dec twenty seventh! “
The movies nonetheless within the operating to attain an Oscar nomination for Finest Worldwide Function are as follows:
‘Armand” from Norway
‘Dahomey’ from Senegal
‘Emilia Perez’ from France
‘Move’ from Latvia
‘From Floor Zero’ from Palestine
‘The Woman With the Needle’ from Denmark
‘Easy methods to Make Thousands and thousands earlier than Grandma Dies’ from Thailand
‘I am Nonetheless Right here’ from Brazil
‘Kneecap’ from Eire
‘Santosh’ from United Kingdom
‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’ from Germany
‘Contact’ from Iceland
‘Common Language’ from Canada
‘Waves’ from Czech Republic
‘Vermiglio’ from Italy
The listing consists of movies which can be formally eligible to compete in numerous classes. Nevertheless, it doesn’t assure that these movies will advance to the ultimate nominations for the Academy Awards.
Reacting to the information, Indian followers expressed their shock saying, “Lmao not solely did LAPATAA LADIES not make it, however the different Hindi film, Sandhya Suri’s SANTOSH did.”
One other mentioned, “Laapata Girls is just not brief listed for one of the best worldwide characteristic by @TheAcademy however Sandhya Suri’s UK-backed Santosh has made the listing.”

Oscar voting to find out the nominees in all 23 classes will begin on Wednesday, January 8, and it’ll finish on Sunday, January 12. Nominations will probably be introduced on Friday, January 17.