Watch the trailer for Laapataa Ladies (Lost Ladies) here.
Kiran Rao‘s delightful second feature ‘Laapataa Ladies’ (Lost Ladies) explores this idea through the jaw-dropping premise of bride-swapping in the fictional rural town of Nirmal Pradesh.
While the story’s setting in 2001 with early mobile phones and trains stopping at every small station provides a believable backdrop, the film’s true strength lies in how it uses this seemingly implausible mix-up to deliver pointed commentary on uncomfortable patriarchal truths still prevalent today.
Rao wields the ghunghat (veil) as a double-edged sword – both limiting the new brides Phool and Jaya by obscuring their faces, yet also allowing them to find their voices when one ends up stranded and the other reaches the wrong marital home. The veil becomes a metaphor for how the daughter-sister-wife-mother labels enforce facelessness on women.
The review recalls memories of women being “neatly hidden” behind veils, especially new brides, showing how this pernicious tradition persists. Rao effectively depicts the skewed power dynamics and casual misogyny women face from police to homes through witty, if occasionally contrived, situations.
While some characters like the good-hearted station staff aiding Phool are “straight out of films”, the review celebrates when the male antagonists face comeuppance while the “lovely ladies” triumph – providing cathartic moments amidst the biting social satire.
The wonderful ensemble cast of mostly fresh faces is perfectly suited for the film, which would’ve been undermined by big stars. Veteran Ravi Kishan shines as the morally ambiguous cop. The newcomer leads Nitanshi Goel and Pratibha Ranta, balancing innocence and worldly perspectives respectively, are the true winners.
Overall, ‘Laapataa Ladies’ (Lost Ladies) is lauded as a delightful feminist saga using gentle humor to expose uncomfortable patriarchal realities, while allowing its “lost” heroines to be finally seen and heard.
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