Writer Sneha Desai, who made her debut with Missing Ladies, spoke about the Film Federation of India’s (FFI) defining Indian women as ‘a strange mix of subordination and dominance’ in its quote for the film’s Oscar entry. In an exclusive interview with IndiaToday.in, Desai mentioned that one shouldn’t let “typos” and “wording” problems overshadow the real joy that is the film’s official entry to the Oscars.

The writer said it was important to note that the federation “unanimously” voted to take Lapata Ladies forward. “I think the joy of being on that citation is so great that I won’t go into the wording or the typos on the citation. The fact that they voted unanimously for Lapata Ladies and their belief is quite gratifying,” she said.

Many social media users pointed out the problem in the definition used by the Film Federation to explain the essence of missing ladies. Many even pointed out that the Federation’s selection committee had 13 members and all of them were men.

The rest of the description about Missing Ladies in the same document is as follows: “With well-defined, powerful characters in the same world, Missing Ladies (Hindi) reflects this diversity perfectly, although in a semi-idyllic world and in a humorous way. It shows you that women can happily aspire to be housewives, as well as be rebellious and entrepreneurial. A story that can be seen simultaneously as a need for change, and a story that can bring about change.”

Lapata Ladies vs Animals for Oscars

Meanwhile, Desai also commented on Missing Ladies beating 28 films in the list to qualify as India’s official entry to the Oscars. When asked if it felt like a poetic victory for Animal to top the list for a film that was considered a highly sexist film, he said, “A lot of controversy has been unnecessarily created over the competition between Missing Ladies and Animal. The film has done brilliantly and has done great business. There is an audience for all kinds of films. I am just happy that such a small film with a big heart has made such a big splash.”

She also spoke in detail about what the film is actually about. The writer explained that the Kiran Rao-directed film is not a preachy drama about women empowerment but a subtle narrative that inspires women to make informed decisions without putting in much effort.

Sneha Desai also refused to call Missing Ladies a feminist film. She said that she did not want to associate the film with any revolution or rebellion. “I don’t think I would like to call it a feminist film. It talks about women, women empowerment, but it doesn’t portray feminism in its own terms. We are trying to address a lot of issues in a very humorous way. At the same time, we are trying to tell women to find solutions to their problems within the framework in which we are living.”

Starring Nitanshi Goyal, Pratibha Ranta and Sparsh Srivastava, the film is set in rural India and tells the story of two brides who inadvertently get switched at a railway station. Missing Ladies is produced by Aamir Khan.