Lost Ladies

Source: Courtesy of TIFF

Lost Ladies

Kiran Rao’s Lost Ladies (Laapataa Ladies), which gets its world premiere in TIFF’s Centrepiece section tomorrow (Friday September 8) will receive its global theatrical launch on January 5, 2024.

Reliance Industries’ Indian content division Jio Studios will release the Indian Hindi-language drama in India and the US on that date, along with other planned international launches. Nitin Zanwar of Jio Studios is engaged in ongoing territory negotiations.

Lost Ladies takes place in 2001 and follows the mayhem that ensues when two young brides from the subcontinent are mistakenly swapped prior to their wedding days.

Pratibha Ranta and Nitanshi Goel play the veiled young women at the heart of a mix-up when one husband-to-be accidentally escorts the wrong fiancée off their overnight train.

As he introduces the wrong woman to his family, the other bride must fend for herself when she is left at a remote railway station. The cast includes Sparsh Shrivastava and Chhaya Kadam.

Mumbai-based Rao’s second feature comes after her debut Dhobi Ghat premiered at TIFF in 2010.

The filmmaker said, “Lost Ladies celebrates losing one’s way in life, and all the adventures and learnings that come with it. I was in my own way a little lost, until I heard the story of this film. One of the reasons I loved the story is that it has the power of a classic – something that appeals to everyone, regardless of age, gender or background.

“I am very happy that we have the 5th of January 2024 as our release date, and I look forward to audiences in India and around the world beginning their year with watching our film in theatres.

Jyoti Deshpande, president of media and content business at Reliance Industries Ltd, served as producer. Executive producers are Antara Banerjee and Naved Farooqui.