Laapataa Ladies

It stars Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Chhaya Kadam and Ravi Kishan, and tells the story of two young brides who lose themselves during a train ride.

Laapataa Ladies
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kiran Rao
Written by	Original Story: Biplab Goswami Screenplay & Dialogues: Sneha Desai Additional Dialogues: Divyanidhi Sharma
Produced by	Aamir Khan Kiran Rao Jyoti Deshpande
Starring	Nitanshi Goel Sparsh Srivastav Pratibha Ranta Abhay Dubey Chhaya Kadam Ravi Kishan
Cinematography	Vikash Nowlakha
Edited by	Jabeen Merchant
Music by	Ram Sampath
Production companies	Jio Studios Aamir Khan Productions Kindling Pictures
Distributed by	Yash Raj Films
Release dates	8 September 2023 (2023-09-08) (TIFF) 1 March 2024 (2024-03-01)
Running time	124 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	est.₹4−5 crore
Box office	₹21.65 crore

The film was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on 8 September 2023, and was theatrically released on 1 March 2024.

Deepak was a good man, and surprisingly, neither he nor his family was too patriarchal in their approach. Deepak’s innocence, his love for his wife, the kind of respect he gave her, and the things he did to woo her were like a breath of fresh air. He didn’t take Phool for granted, and the latter just adored him for who he was. The wedding ceremonies were over, and while Deepak’s family left for their village, he stayed back for a day more as Phool’s family wanted to do some rituals in a temple. Deepak left with Phool and embarked on the journey, where he had to change multiple public transports in order to reach his village, Surajmukhi. On the train, Deepak saw that there were multiple newlywed couples sitting there, and the brides were wearing the same colored attire, all of them having their faces covered with a veil. It was a long and trying journey, and somehow, Deepak managed to take a nap. He woke up suddenly to realize that his destination had arrived. He hurriedly got up, took his luggage, asked Phool to follow him, and got out of the train. What he didn’t know was that instead of Phool, another woman accompanied him. This woman’s name was Jaya, and she was married to a guy named Pradeep.

At that moment in Laapataa Ladies, it felt like it was a genuine error on her part, and she didn’t even realize that it wasn’t her husband but another man who asked her to come with him. But later, we found out that Jaya realized this the moment she stepped down from the train, but she intentionally chose to stay quiet for some unknown reason at that point in time. Deepak’s friends were waiting for him, and they welcomed him with a lot of warmth and love. Deepak and his family for the shock of their lives when they realized that his wife had been swapped for someone else. When Pradeep’s station came, he asked Phool, thinking that she was his wife, to get down from the train. Phool got traumatized when she realized that she was lost. She didn’t know where to go, and she felt really unsafe amidst all the lecherous men who surrounded her at the station with a clear intention of taking advantage of her. Deepak started searching for Phool, but he had no means to contact her, and he also didn’t know if she was still on the train or if she had got down at any station.

Phool, on the other hand, found a guy named Chotu who decided to help her, and he took her to a woman named Manju Mai, who had a tea and snack stall at the station itself. Manju Mai was sceptical about taking the girl in or giving her shelter, but slowly, she started sympathizing with her situation and asked her to stay with her.

What Was Jaya Trying To Do? In Laapataa Ladies, Jaya didn’t say anything to Deepak’s family, and she even gave the wrong address and phone number for her residence. Jaya had gotten to know the kind of man her fiancé was. There were rumors that he had murdered his first wife, though the charges were never proven in court because of the kind of influence that man had in the area. Pradeep was marrying Jaya only for dowry, and he was a very pathetic man who was capable of going to any extent to have his way. He didn’t even care when his wife went missing, and the only thing that bothered him was that she had all the jewelry with her. Jaya had begged her mother to let her study further, but she was not allowed to do so. Jaya wanted to go to Dehradun and pursue a career in organic farming, as she believed that it was the future. Actually, Jaya, as such, didn’t have any plans to run away, but when she accidentally got off at the station with Deepak, she knew that an opportunity had fallen into her lap. Jaya wanted to sell the jewelry and pay for her college fees.

Meanwhile, police officer Shyam Manohar started looking into the case when Deepak went to him and filed a missing person report. Shayam Manohar was a peculiar character, and he realized that something was suspicious, and Jaya was not who she was pretending to be. Jaya said that her name was Pushpa Rani, but Manohar got information from another police station that a woman named Jaya had gone missing on the same day and on the same train. Manohar started following Jaya, and it didn’t take him much time to realize that she had been lying all along. Manohar’s plan was that he would take money from Pradeep and also keep a share of the jewelry that Jaya had on her.

How Did Shyam Manohar Help Jaya? The generosity of the strangers who helped her just left a deep impact on her heart, and it made her realize something about herself. She realized how much satisfaction she got when she worked hard and got money in return for her services. She felt independent, and that in itself was a very liberating feeling for her. Phool felt that she was not just somebody’s wife, but she had an identity of her own. Meanwhile, Jaya’s lies got caught, and Shyam Manohar made it very clear that he was going to hand her over to her husband. Jaya broke down after she realized that, even after requesting so much, nobody was ready to let her do what she wanted to do. She told Manohar that her fault was that she wanted to study, and she was naive enough to believe that since she was an adult, she could make her own decisions in a democratic country. She told Manohar the kind of man her husband was and how he would make her life a living hell once she went with him. Manohar might have been a corrupt cop, but he was still not a bad man from within.

Pradeep came, and in his arrogance, he threw a bundle of notes on Manohar’s table and got ready to take his wife with him as if she were his property. Pradeep slapped Jaya in the police station, and even Manohar and his colleagues were shocked that the man believed that he was untouchable. Pradeep was going to leave with Jaya when, surprisingly, Manohar stopped her. He told Pradeep that though the case was solved, there was another case that was ongoing, and because of that, he couldn’t let Pradeep take Jaya. He said that Jaya was over 18 years old, and because she didn’t want to go, he would have to file a case against Pradeep if he forced her to do something against her wishes. Manohar was an intimidating man, and up until then, he was talking very sweetly to Pradeep, which gave the latter the impression that he couldn’t do anything. Manohar made it very clear that taking dowry was an offense, and Pradeep accepted that he had taken it in front of many witnesses. Pradeep was shocked, and he tried to threaten Manohar, but that move also didn’t play out as he would have expected it to.

In Laapataa Ladies‘ ending, Jaya got to pursue further studies, and because of her posters, Phool was finally able to make contact and come back to Deepak. Shyam Manohar didn’t take Jaya’s jewelry, and he told her to pursue her passion and become successful in life. Jaya left with a promise to return to meet Deepak’s family, with whom she had developed a very strong bond. Phool was extremely happy with the kind of man Deepak was, and probably in the future, she would also work and not follow the redundant norms of a society that only sought to oppress women.

The music of the film is composed by Ram Sampath while lyrics written by Divyanidhi Sharma, Prashant Pandey and Swanand Kirkire.

Laapataa Ladies was released in theatres on 1 March 2024.

Distribution

Yash Raj Films acquired global distribution rights (Including UK) for the film.

Digital Release

Laapataa Ladies premiered on Netflix on 26 April 2024 .

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 21 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10. Laapaata Ladies received critical acclaim.

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and stated that Kiran Rao returns to the director's seat "with a work that strikes the right notes. She does away with marquee names in Laapataa Ladies... and employs three first-timers in a lively tale of two brides caught in a terrible mix-up."

Bollywood Hungama rated the film 3/5 stars, writing, "Laapataa Ladies works due to the amusing plot, performances, underlying message and some memorable funny and emotional scenes." Catherine Bray of The Guardian gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and stated, "If you can get with the larky premise, Kiran Rao’s tale of mixed-up newlyweds makes for a gently probing comedy of manners."

In a review for The Indian Express, Shubhra Gupta rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Kiran Rao's film is unapologetically message-y, but its strongly beating feminist heart overrides the broad brush strokes. Sometimes things need to be stated loud and clear."

Rishil Jogani of Pinkvilla rated the film 4/5 and opined that Laapataa Ladies "is funny, witty, quirky, entertaining and empowering. It is an extremely important film that utilises the power of cinema in the right way".

Tushar Joshi of India Today said in his review that "‘Laapataa Ladies’ is a terrific watch simply because it is put together so well. The length might be a slight issue, but if you invest your heart into this tale of two women gone missing, then you will be in for a treat."

Box office

On its first day, the film earned Nett of ₹75 lakh, followed by ₹1.45 crore on the second day and ₹1.7 crore on the third day, a first weekend total of ₹3.75 crore. As of 11 April 2024, the film has a gross of ₹20.49 crore in India and a worldwide gross of ₹21.65 crore.