Laapataa Ladies, directed by Kiran Rao and produced by Aamir Khan, became one of the most successful movies of 2024. The film had a good collection in theatres, received amazing response on OTT and also gained critical appreciation. However, the movie has been getting criticism online after netizens found some similarities with Arabic short film ‘Burqa City’.
In the viral clip, a man mistakenly brings another woman to his home after being confused due to both his wife and the woman wearing burqa. Even the police scene seemed similar to the scene shown in Laapataa Ladies.
However, netizens did not seem happy after seeing the viral post and demanded answers from Kiran Rao.
The post reads, “Kiran Rao’s Lapata Ladies, India’s official entry to the Oscars and projected as an original work, actually seems heavily inspired by a 2019 short film titled Burqa City. Set in Middle East, the 19 min film follows a newlywed man whose wife gets exchanged due to identical burqas. He then embarks on a journey to find her. The satirical comedy highlights the absurdity of a society where women are treated as interchangeable objects rather than unique individuals, critiquing extreme patriarchy, gender-based restrictions, and the loss of identity. Kiran Rao made Lapata Ladies, with the same theme, replacing burqas with ghoonghats. The film carried the same message about patriarchy, societal norms, and women’s identity. Even the Ravi Kishan police station scene seems heavily inspired.”
Kiran Rao's Lapata Ladies, India's official entry to the Oscars and projected as an original work, actually seems heavily inspired by a 2019 short film titled Burqa City.
— THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) March 31, 2025
Set in Middle East, the 19 min film follows a newlywed man whose wife gets exchanged due to identical… pic.twitter.com/b7GcHN2MmI
‘Laapataa Ladies’ stars Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Chhaya Kadam and Ravi Kishan in the lead roles. The movie revolves around two newly wed brides, who get exchanged during a train ride and the plot focuses on the chaos that follow after this unexpected situation. Laapataa Ladies was also India’s official submission to Oscars 2025 but did not make it to the nominations.
