Chhaya Kadam predicted 'Laapataa Ladies' Oscar entry just days before announcement!

Chhaya Kadam gained attention for her dance performance at the 77th Cannes International Film Festival, where 'All We Imagine As Light' was the first Indian film to compete in the main competition since 1994 and won the Grand Prix. Kadam also received praise for her role as a local Konkani smuggler in 'Madgaon Express' and won hearts, as the feminist soothsayer Manju Maai in Kiran Rao’s 'Laapataa Ladies', where her character runs a tea stall at a railway station.

For Chhaya, the icing on the cake is that 'Laapataa Ladies' has been selected as India’s official entry to the Oscars. While attending the Paris premiere of 'All We Imagine As Light', she shared with News18 Showsha that she always had a sense that 'Laapataa Ladies' would make the cut. She remarked, “Mera first reaction yeh tha ki yeh toh hona hi tha (laughs)! I was and still am extremely happy. But I knew deep down in my heart that this was inevitable.”

Kadam revealed that she spoke to Kiran a day before the big announcement about 'Laapataa Ladies'. She had told her that their film might achieve the much-talked-about feat. At the San Sebastian Film Festival, someone mentioned that the film had been shortlisted for the Oscars. Excited, Chhaya called Kiran to congratulate her, but Kiran responded, “No, no, there’s no such news yet. They’re going to announce the names of the films on September 27.” The call got disconnected because Chhaya was in a no-network zone.