From 1927 Till Date: A Look At The Changing Names Of Oscars' Best Picture Category

All eyes are on the entries for the Oscars 2025. The 97th Academy Awards set to take place on March 3, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Movie enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting which film will take home the prestigious Best Picture award. Did you know that this category's name has gone through several changes over the years? From 1927 to 1929, it was called the Academy Award for Outstanding Picture. From 1930 to 1940, it was referred to as the Academy Award for Outstanding Production. Between 1941 and 1943, it became the Academy Award for Outstanding Motion Picture. From 1944 to 1961, it was named the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture. Since 1962, it has been known simply as the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Meanwhile, Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies has been selected as India's official entry for the Oscars 2025 in the Best International Feature Film category. The announcement was made by the Film Federation of India on Monday, September 23. News agency ANI posted a picture of a citation from the Film Federation of India on X (formerly Twitter).

It read, “Indian women are a strange mixture of submission and dominance. Well-defined, powerful characters in one world a LAAPATAA LADIES (Hindi) captures this diversity perfectly, though in a semi-idyllic world and in a tongue-in-cheek way. It shows you that women can happily desire to be homemakers as well as rebel and be entrepreneurially inclined. A story that can simultaneously be seen as one that needs change, and one that can bring about change. Lapataa Ladies (Hindi) is a film that can engage, entertain and make sense not just to women in India but universally as well.”

'Laapataa Ladies' is India's official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Film Category 2025. pic.twitter.com/2gjzgzsDDJ— ANI (@ANI) September 23, 2024

Kiran Rao released a long statement to express her happiness after the big announcement. It read, “I am deeply honored and delighted that our film Laapataa Ladies has been chosen as India's official entry to the Academy Awards. This recognition is a testament to the tireless work of my entire team, whose dedication and passion brought this story to life… I hope that this film will resonate with audiences across the world, just as it has in India." Read her full note here.