Mahima Thombare/Mumbai

Actor Aamir Khan and his ex-wife producer-director Kiran Rao have paired as a creative team for Lapata Ladies released on Friday across theaters in India.The film is presented by Jio Studios, produced by Aamir Khan Productions, and directed by Kiran Rao. Mahima Thombare of Awaz-the Voice, Marathi,spoke to Amir Khan, Kiran rao and the team of lapata ladies on this occasion.

The Lapata Ladies is the story of a small village; it has a social message. Director Kiran Rao says, “Writer Biplab Gosavi had sent this story for a competition and Aamir Khan was the judge of that. He liked this story very much. It was he who suggested to me that I could make a film on it. I also liked the story."

​Kiran Rao says the story is of a newly married couple. “The couple is traveling by train and on reaching home the husband realizes that while getting off the train, he accidentally held another woman’s hand. He brings home someone else's wife. This idea and the plot were very interesting.  will this husband and wife meet; how will they find each other? This curiosity remains till the end.  The emerging possibilities In the story touched my heart and I thought of making a film on it."

She adds, "The story was originally quite serious and realistic, but I wanted to present it in a slightly more entertaining manner. Screenplay and dialogue writer Sneha Desai brought all my ideas to life. We decided that these interesting aspects of human nature should come to the fore during the story."

On the script and dialogues of the film, Rao says, "We have deliberately kept the script and dialogues of the film natural. There were many types of characters in this story. But if the story had been presented in a very serious and informative manner, then perhaps it would have been as impactful. It is not possible. So we presented it lightly."

Poster of the film Lapata Ladies

​Aamir Khan says he had read this story and was therefore aware of the changes in its script and during its making.  "The story was very interesting. There was a lot of 'drama' in it. Kiran Rao is a very honest and realistic director. If there was any other 'dramatic' director in his place then I think the film would have turned into a 'melodrama'. That's why I felt that Kiran Rao was the right person to direct this story. After watching the film, I felt that he has done justice to this story."

Another specialty of this film is that it is a story of women told by a woman director. Kiran Rao says, "Everyone should tell what they feel. But I believe that women should come forward and tell women's stories. Not only in the film industry but in many other fields too, women's voices are weak, it should be amplified. Women, half of our population, should take the initiative to tell their stories.

“Of course, it is also important to tell that a sensitive man can also present women's story with the same strength.''

On this Aamir Khan says, "A sensitive director with a good artistic background, whether male or female, can present anyone's story in a good way."

All the actors in this film are fresh faces and it’s their first film. When asked how challenging it was to work with all of them, Kiran Rao said, "In every film of Aamir Khan Productions, we read the script together several times before shooting. The same was done during this film too. All the actors' Workshops were also taken. Some scenes were rehearsed in the Mumbai office. Since the background of the film is rural, we also hired a special coach so that the accent and language of that area could be brought in."

​Artists like Chhaya Kadam, Sparsh Srivastava, Pratibha Ranta, and Nitanshi Goyal are the lead actors in the film. Speaking about her experience of working in the film, Chaya says, "Apart from the shooting, we all spent a lot of time together. It benefited us a lot. The script of the film was very good, so the foundation was very strong. We benefited a lot from the workshop. With the help of Kiran Rao, it was possible to build a good building on this strong foundation."

Describing the importance of this film, Aamir Khan said, "After Corona, a misconception has spread among the people that going to the cinema hall means that you have to watch an action or grandeur-filled film. But I do not agree with this notion. No film is grand because of its action, VFX, or cinematography. Any film is grand only because of its story. When the story is good then the audience likes the film.”

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Kiran Rao says, "The story of our film Laapta Ladies is strong, hence people will like it. I want to request the film lovers that today there is a plethora of grand action films. In such a time, do go to the theaters to watch this film with deep thought and story."