Filmmaker Hansal Mehta has made it crystal clear that he is not a fan of the Film Federation of India (FFI). Mehta has time and time again, disagreed with the federation’s decision of selecting Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies over Payla Kapadia’s Cannes Grand Prix winner All We Imagine as Light as India’s submission to the Oscars. Now, in a recent bout, Mehta has asked FFI jury head Jahnu Barua for some clarity regarding the decision.
In a recent interview with the Hindustan Times, when Barua was asked why the Malayalam-Hindi film was dismissed in the selection process, he replied, “The jury felt that her film was very poor technically”.
Mehta took to X (formerly Twitter), and reacted to the statement, demanding that Barua must explain what he meant by “poor technically”.
When another netizen tweeted that he was disappointed that a celebrated filmmaker like Barua would make such a comment, Mehta replied that he reciprocated the feelings, and revealed that he, too, was asked to be a part of the jury. “I was asked to be on this jury several times including this time. But I’d rather stay away than have to pretend that all these choices are free of external pressures and only based on merit,” he wrote.
ALSO READ | Kiran Rao’s ‘Laapataa Ladies’ out of Oscars 2025 race; internet reacts
On December 17, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) published the shortlisted film still in the run for a nomination in 10 categories, in which Kiran Rao directorial Laapataa Ladies, retitled Lost Ladies for the international audience, was noticeably absent.
Many, including Mehta, took to social media to express their disappointment and targeted the FFI for failing to choose a better film, many suggesting All We Imagine as Light.