Delight and disappointment—these two polarising emotions dominated the online discourse after the Film Federation of India (FFI), on Monday afternoon, announced India’s official entry to the Academy Awards 2025. Director Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies was selected to represent the country in the Best International Feature Film category. There is little to fault in Rao’s widely acclaimed comedy about women’s empowerment, but a section of the population was shocked that it outshone Payal Kapadia’s Cannes Grand Prix-winning film, All We Imagine as Light, and Anand Ekarshi’s National Award-winning thriller Aattam.

Kani Kusruti fronts All We Imagine as Light