Kiran Rao and Amir Khan’s slice-of-life social satire ‘Laapataa Ladies’ is now ‘Lost Ladies’ for its Oscar campaigning. The film is in the race for the Best International Feature category of the most prestigious film awards. The race towards the trophy is not as easy as it seems. Apart from having merit, the film needs to do effective campaigning to bolster its chances. Kickstarting their ‘Lost Ladies’ campaign, chef Vikas Khanna hosted a screening at Bungalow in New York. Moreover, the makers have also released a new poster for the international audience.
Sharing the new poster on Instagram, the makers captioned the post, “The wait is over! Presenting the official poster for Lost Ladies—a glimpse into the wild, heartfelt journey of Phool and Jaya! Huge shoutout to @jahansinghbakshi and @apertureanecdotes for bringing our story to life with this stunning design. Get ready to be swept away! #LostLadies #PosterReveal.”
Moreover, Vikas Khanna also took to social media to drop snippets of the campaign screening. Encouraging the team behind the film, he wrote, “‘Ab dil se Dua atti hai, “Jeet lo duniya.’ This is exactly what I felt yesterday when we were hosting Oscar Campaigning event of Lost Ladies (Laapataa Ladies) at Bungalow.”
The Oscar campaign is an integral part of the Oscar race. It focuses on disseminating information about the film and encouraging a dialogue around it. This combines word of mouth, screenings, press conferences, public appearances, et al. The objective is to make the film a part of conversations, especially among the critics. In this aspect, the three major film festivals, Cannes, Venice, and Toronto, play a major role. Payal Kapadia’s ‘All We Imagine As Light’ which clinched the prestigious Grand Prix at the Cannes after decades could have had an edge in this strategy.
In a recent interview with Hollywood Reporter, filmmaker Kiran Rao also talked about the need for strategizing the Oscar campaigning. “Back then screenings were the only option, and then you relied on word of mouth to get to people to come to your screenings. Now there is a plethora of things online that they can watch. So, the campaigning takes a much bigger part of your budget.”
Also Read: INTERVIEW: Kiran Rao on ‘Laapataa Ladies’ and sparking change through cinema
Kiran Rao directed ‘Laapataa Ladies’ while Aamir Khan backed the title. The film was led by a cast of fresh faces- Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, and Sparsh Shrivastav. It also featured Chhaya Kadam and Ravi Kishan in crucial roles.