Aamir Khan defends Laapataa Ladies amid ‘backward mentality’ claims before Oscars

Actor Aamir Khan defended his production Laapataa Ladies against criticism of a ‘backward mentality’.

Directed by Kiran Rao, the film was selected as India’s official entry for the Best International Feature category. In a recent interview, Aamir was asked about why films set in rural India tend to resonate more with Academy voters and whether he is perpetuating a regressive view of the country by making such films.

While talking to BBC Asian Network, the Dangal actor commented about Laapataa Ladies promoting a ‘backward mentality’ and feeding into the idea of ‘poverty porn,’ stating, “Not all the films we make are set in villages. A lot of our films are accepted all over the world.

I don’t think audiences all over the world have any major misconceptions about how India is anymore. Maybe at one time, it was true that they felt India was a land of snake charmers and elephants. But that’s a thing of the past now. I don’t think people have misconceptions about what India is like any more, not to that extent, certainly.”

When asked if the film would resonate with international audiences, Aamir replied, “We should give them more credit—they’ve seen films from all over the world.”

Laapataa Ladies is about two brides who get inadvertently exchanged at a railway station. How that leads to misadventures, comedy and certain life lessons on the way, makes the film one of the most swift screen experiences of our time.

Presented by Jio Studios, Laapataa Ladies is directed by Kiran Rao and produced by Aamir Khan and Jyoti Deshpande. The film is under the banner of Aamir Khan Productions and Kindling Productions, with the script based on an award-winning story by Biplab Goswami. The screenplay and dialogue are written by Sneha Desai, while the additional dialogues have been jotted down by Divyanidhi Sharma.