In an exclusive interview with Film Companion from the Toronto International Film Festival 2023, Sneha Menon Desai spoke to Kiran Rao for her film Laapataa Ladies which was screened at the festival. The film has been directed by Rao and produced by Aamir Khan. Apart from talking about Laapataa ladies, Rao also voiced her opinion on films which make 100 crores at the box office despite radiating regressive messaging.
“When it's regressive messaging and it makes hundreds of crores, it hurts. Rao told in the interview sharing her thoughts on producing thought provoking films. “You had the opportunity and you could push the needle in some direction and you didn’t so those are the things that sometimes bother me.”
She further continued, “Having said that every filmmaker has their goals, they want to do what they do but it would be really nice if the big films, if the films that we or the audiences love or earn lots at the box office were also doing some of that important work for us which is building a society in a positive way not stereotyping people, in fact breaking some of those regressive ideas down.”
Starring Atishay Jain Akhil, Nitanshi Goel and Daood Hussain, Laapataa Ladies also stars Ravi Kishan in supporting cast. Rao made her directorial debut in 2010 with Dhobi Ghat which was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).