Laapataa Ladies Review: Kiran Rao's Heart-warming Tale Of Bride Swap Is One Of Best Films On Women Empowerment

Laapataa Ladies Review: Very rarely you get to see a film that is entertaining yet hard-hitting and that's where Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies scores. Firstly kudos to Kiran for not just attempting but perfectly executing this heartwarming tale of two brides who accidentally switch places on a train. The hilarious small-town drama stars newbies- Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta & Sparsh Shrivastava along with Ravi Kishan, among others, and releases in theatres on March 1, 2024.

At the times where no-brainier masala entertainers have taken a top spot, Laapataa Ladies gives you hope that 'good cinema' do exist. For a lot of reasons, a film like Laapataa Ladies is the need of hour and congratulations to the entire team for their honest attempt.

Shot in Madhya Pradesh and set in the year 2001 in a fictional Nirmal Pradesh, the film is about two new brides- Phool and Jaya who get swapped on the very first, post-wedding journey in train.
Laapataa Ladies is a delightful watch, the movie touches subjects like, feminism, women empowerment, dowry and girl educations without being preachy. In the era of VFX, high-octane action sequences and glorification of misogyny on screen, Laapataa Ladies is a breather and is as a fresh tale of love and is a perfect family entertainer that you must watch on big screens.

Story: Phool (Nitanshi Goel) and Jaya (Pratibha Ranta) are two new brides & their faces hidden behind identical red ghunghaats (marital veil). The duo along with their grooms are traveling to their respective sasurals(in-law's place) in a jam packed second class train. Their fate takes a U-turn when Phool's husband Deepak (Sparsh Shrivastava) accidentally wakes Jaya in the night and takes her home to his village, meanwhile Phool finds herself stranded in the small railway station Pateela with a bunch of residents of the station, including a tea shop owner Manju Mai (Chhaya Kadam), for company. What happens next is not just a comedy of errors but unfolds a lot of other societal issues in not so preachy ways.

Acting: Both the young girls Nityanshi Goel and Pratibha Ranta mesmerize as the misplaced brides. With opposite personalities both the girl perfectly fits in the character, Goel as Phool is demure and aces in her coy yet confident avatar. Contrary to Goel's character Pratibha Ranta as Jaya/Pushpa is observant and calculated and hates to be a damsel in distress and rather takes the unfortunate switch as a blessing in disguise. Sparsh Srivastav impresses as Deepak,who comes from a patriarchal background but won't shy in standing up against patriarchy, he even shows his emotional side when needed.

Known for Jamtara, Sparsh brings so much to his character, however, it's Ravi Kishan who takes the cake as cop Shyam Manohar. Kishan is a delight to watch on screen as a seemingly corrupt police officer- his eyes manic and mouth full of tobacco as he succumbs to the intrigue of this case. Every time he comes on screen you will be forced laugh your hearts out. Other side characters also perfectly blends in the story and lives up to the expectations.

Direction: Kiran Rao once again proves her craftsmanship and when is comes to deep-rooted films, she aces the genre. This is her second film after 'Dhobhi Ghat' and we need to see more of Kiran's work. Her research is solid and so is her command over the subject, there's not a moment which gives you boredom and full credit goes to Rao.

She brings the best out of the three newcomers who are the lead actors and also gives a fresh take to a superstar like Ravi Kishan. Not to forget Ravi Kishan in all his recent interviews has called Laapataa Ladies as his launchpad in Bollywood and we now know the reason why!

The film is produced by Aamir Khan Productions with a story by Bilab Goswami, screenplay by Sneha Desai, and additional dialogue by Divyanidhi Sharma.