Almost six months after its release, and six years after she first heard the idea of Laapataa Ladies, Kiran Rao is still receiving stellar reviews. Last week, however, it was not regular moviegoers but judges of the Supreme Court who watched the film and discussed its unique theme with Kiran and Aamir Khan after the screening. After the screening, Kiran spoke to us about her experience of visiting the Supreme Court, interacting with the judges, and how, after six months, she feels enveloped by the love for the film.

“Now I literally see hearts in people’s eyes when they look at me,” she said at the screening in Delhi.

Two scenes from the film that got the biggest reactions were one, the dialogue between two elderly ladies about why women of the house can’t become friends, and second is the dialogue, ‘Iss desh mein ladkiyon ke saath fraud ho raha hai – uska naam hai bhale ghar ki bahu-beti’.

Talking about what she wanted out of these moments in the film, Kiran says, “The kind of experiences that women have in their workplaces and homes were some of the experiences we wanted to touch upon. I feel that these two scenes resonated with the audience because they were genuine interactions between the characters, not lectures making a point. Both came very organically.”

Because of the overwhelming response to Laapataa Ladies, Kiran says that she has had some of the most memorable months of her life.

“Honestly, I have been feeling enveloped in the affection and the great love that the film has been receiving. The reaction is something I didn’t expect at all, it has really affected me personally. I feel very humbled by the fact that not just women, but people in general, have been moved by the film. I have had interactions with people whose stories have been very similar. The goal was really to start a conversation on the many themes that the film touches upon and the film seems to have gone beyond themes or issues and touched people’s hearts. That is the most incredible feeling as a filmmaker.”

Kiran shares that the film speaks to people across the board. “Most of us relate to the experiences of the characters in the film, even though we may not belong to rural India or be a woman. The film has a universal humanity, which we were hoping to convey. Even when we were showing the film at the Toronto Film Festival and whenever I was traveling in Europe, the reactions have been similar across the board. People react to the fact that it reminds them of someone in their lives, resonating with the ideas it presents. So, it has become broader than just this specific story, which is what I think every filmmaker hopes to do – to create something memorable that connects with people.”