Director Kiran Rao, who was celebrating her film ‘Missing Ladies’ being selected as India’s official entry for Oscars 2025, told the India Today Conclave that the completely new cast worked in the film’s favour, allowing the audience to “get completely immersed in the world of the film.” Kiran also explained why she chose to direct the film.

Speaking at the India Today Mumbai Conclave session Take II: How Women Are Redefining Indian Cinema, Kiran said, “The story resonated with me. I think it is about two girls who are looking for independence, opportunity and a voice. Such stories appeal to filmmakers like me because I feel we need to make more films on women. It is very important that we invest more in female storytellers, producers, actors and projects directed by women. I will continue to tell stories revolving around interesting female characters.”

The director also elaborated on the creative choices that helped shape the film’s unique appeal. He explained how the decision to cast fresh faces made the story more grounded and relatable, “We felt that keeping the story grounded and organic would make it much more believable and entertaining. I think that’s one of the main reasons why the audience responded so well to it. With a completely new cast, people couldn’t recognise the actors, which allowed them to forget and get completely immersed in the world of the film. This worked in our favour.”

“We thought a lot about how to incorporate the everyday struggles women face at different stages of their lives into the story. But we wanted to do it through humour because no one wants to listen to a lecture while going to the movies. I truly believe humour is one of the best ways to tackle the most uncomfortable issues. The very premise of the story is – two women getting entangled in a train as they get separated from each other. veil“It was so absurd that it naturally became comical,” he said.

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