‘Definition’ of Indian women in ‘Laapataa Ladies’ Oscar citation leaves netizens furious
In the opening line, the Film Federation of India has defined Indian women as a “strange mix of submission and dominance”
The Film Federation of India’s (FFI) citation for submitting Laapataa Ladies as India’s official entry to the Oscars has grabbed people’s attention for all the wrong reasons.
In the opening line, the FFI has defined Indian women as a “strange mix of submission and dominance”. While many netizens found the choice of words equally strange, some slammed the “patronising” tone as offensive.
Problem with the text
The citation goes on to say that the “well-defined, powerful characters” of Laapataa Ladies “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”.
Netizens highlighted the problem with the unfortunate wording chosen by the FFI in their own ways. One pointed out the lack of a single woman in the selection committee. Another pointed out the bland text that might have been written by ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence too. Yet another said the message of the film was not what has been cited either. Another user said the sentence was “awfully patronising of women in general”.
About the film
Laapataa Ladies is a comedy about two newly married brides in rural India, who accidentally land up with the wrong groom after a mix-up at a railway station. The two women, with vastly different aspirations, have an adventure of a lifetime, along with the people in their lives.
Laapataa Ladies, directed by Kiran Rao and written by Sneha Desai, is currently streaming on Netflix.
