Indian women mix of submission, dominance: Laapataa Ladies Oscar citation slammed

The Film Federation of India described Indian women as people who are a "strange mix of submission and dominance" in an official document about Laapataa Ladies' Oscars entry. The citation has not gone down well with many.

In Short

• Laapataa Ladies chosen as India's Oscar entry
• The FFI's citation on Indian women sparks controversy
• Social media users criticise citation's language

The Film Federation of India (FFI) submitted Laapataa Ladies as India's official entry to the Oscars earlier. Now, a document of their citation is going viral for all the wrong reasons. In the document, the federation seems to have defined Indian women as people who are a "strange mix of submission and dominance". In fact, that is mentioned as the first sentence on the document, explaining why Laapataa Ladies is the best contender in the category at the Academy.

Several social media users underscored the problem with that definition. "Indian women mix of submission, dominance: Laapataa Ladies Oscar citation slammed (sic)," wrote one X user, while another said, "Probably ChatGpt wrote that Jury's citation for Laapata Ladies (sic)."

The rest of the description of Laapata Ladies in the same document reads: "Well-defined, powerful characters in one world a Laapata Ladies (hindi) captures this diversity perfectly, though in a semi-idyllic world and in a tongue-in-cheek way. It shows you that women can happily desire to be home makers as well as rebel and be entrepreneurially inclined. A story that can simultaneously be seen as one that needs change, and one that can bring about change (sic)."

Laapataa Ladies, a film released in March this year, is about two rural brides, with different dreams, inadvertently getting exchanged at a railway station. The incident leads to hilarious and emotional adventures for not just the two of them, but for everyone around.

In an official statement to IndiaToday.in, Aamir Khan, who has produced the film, called it the happiest news. He said, "We are all so happy with the news. I am so proud of Kiran and her entire team. I would like to thank the selection committee of the Film Federation of India, which chose our film to represent India at the Oscars (sic)."

Laapataa Ladies, regarded as a true feminist film, is directed by Kiran Rao and written by Sneha Desai. It is currently streaming on Netflix. The film surpassed 28 others on the list to become the top contender for the entry.