Giving an overwhelming reaction to Laapataa Ladies as India’s official entry to the Oscars, Sneha, who has written the film’s screenplay and dialogues, said, “We are all very happy. Thank you very much. And we are humbled by the kind of warmth and love we are seeing. since a day and a half ago.
He went on to explain how the big honor for his debut film made it even more special. Sneha says, “This is my debut film, which has come a long way. When I wrote it, we knew that we had something solid in our hands. We knew that as writers, as crew members, as technicians, we can all connect to what’s in it.” our hands, but we didn’t know that our little film would get love and praise.”
Sneha admits that the whole Oscar situation feels surreal. He said, “Our film is India’s entry to the Oscars, it’s real. It’s a bit unbelievable. It’s written well for me too, because in an industry, which is usually star-driven, many industry insiders have started paying attention to me. I have accepted congratulatory calls and messages from many wonderful production houses.They try to associate a face with an unheard of name.So as a debutant writer, this is a dream come true.
Finally, a film produced by Aamir Khan to the Oscars, there is a huge international campaign that speaks of an exciting project. Lagaan and Laapataa Ladies have the advantage of having the same producer. Sneha said, “I think now the ball is in the production court. I am sure they will have a set of protocols to follow. All of us are on the sidelines now, just cheering. I am sure Kiran ma’am, Aamir sir, the production house, the team at Jio , they are all working on the campaign. It will be relevant if we get on the long list and the short list of the Academy Awards. We will wait to see what they will do.
Interestingly, Sneha admitted that she had no dreams of making it to the Oscars stage. He dreams of being somewhere more local but just as famous. Sneha tells, “Initially, writing was not on my radar. I never consciously wanted to be a writer. Film writer toh bahut duur ki baat hai. I love writing for regional theatre. I have many Gujarati plays to my credit. I am also an actor. I’ve got more than 2000 shows to my credit. After that, I’m very happy to do television. I started dabbling in it, if I can say so. If I say that I dream of Oscar at some point in life, it will be completely wrong. But, I must admit, the dream of winning Filmfare is very obvious. Since childhood, we have witnessed many Filmfare ceremonies year.
Sneha further admitted, “Filmfare is the glossiest and most star-studded event we as Indians consume. So, one day… winning a Filmfare award would be great, but dreaming of an Oscar… woh bohot zyada lambi udaan ho jati hai.”
Sneha insists that Laapataa Ladies is a small film with a big heart. He added, “The kind of big splash it makes, it’s really fun and the kind of adulation is like a big bear hug from the audience.”
Ever since news broke that the FFI (Film Federation of India) had chosen Laapataa Ladies as India’s official entry to the Oscars from a shortlist of 28 other films, there was a tsunami of reaction on social media. While some have argued about the FFI press release’s choice of words to describe the film, others have argued about the FFI jury not having women as part of the jury to select the film. Sneha insisted that she did not want to comment. He just said, “I really don’t want to comment on this. There is a higher power that has decided. Laapataa Ladies have entered the list, I certainly will not hesitate.
If the film makes it to the final list of foreign films to compete at next year’s Academy Awards, comparisons with Aamir Khan’s Lagaan will be inevitable. Sneha clarified, “It’s too much to say because we don’t know if we’ll make it to the final five like Lagaan.”
Sneha further explained, “Lagaan is always a blockbuster and the kind of adulation it gets, the kind of money it gets is in a completely different league to Laapataa Ladies. The best thing is that we are in very good hands, experienced hands. They know what we need to reach the top five, the kind of PR they need. They walk the talk. So if Laapataa Ladies advances to round two, I can say we’re in the best hands.
Before he goes into a new meeting for his next project, he signs a note with hope. Sneha said, “We are very hopeful. Oscar is a big competition, we don’t know. We know that we have something very good and exciting, and if it finds resonance in the international circuit, it will be the best.”
