In March 2024, India welcomed a new film on OTT that showcased women’s empowerment from a slightly ‘freedom of choice’ perspective. People celebrated it, and the country sent it to the Oscars. It’s December 2024, and OTT has welcomed yet another movie that is not just written, produced, and directed by a woman (Shuchi Talati) but stars two brilliant actresses in a profoundly moving film on adolescent sex, gender politics, and mother-daughter relationships. Initially released in January 2024, Girls Will Be Girls is winning audiences’ hearts and souls, emerging as one of the year’s best films.
Set in a picturesque town of India situated in the Himalayan foothills, the film follows the journey of Mira (Preeti Panigrahi), who has become the first Head Girl of her colonial-era Catholic culture-inspired school despite teachers believing a girl can’t handle this ‘masculine’ role. Early on in the movie, we see the boarding school imposing Victorian-era sexist impositions on female students in the name of ‘protecting ancient Indian culture and traditions.’
Mira is smart and academically bright. But she is no geek! She explores her body like any typical teenager and finds answers to sex and female anatomy in cyber cafes while dating and making out with an NRI student, Srinivas (Kesav Binoy Kiron). You would think it’s a classic, classic, coming-of-age teen drama. But, no! Enters her mother, Anila (Kani Kusruti), a protective yet open-minded woman who lets her daughter be proud of her body and try the latest fashion but ensures she doesn’t end up trusting a boy out of ‘puppy love.’ It’s a complex dynamic indeed.
However, once Srinivas begins visiting her house, Mira seems to be fighting against her mother for Srinivas’s affection and attention. Talati brilliantly captures the nuance of teenage angst and heartbreak while letting the audience expect an Oedipus complex story arc. Mira knows how emotionally absent her father is, but she aspires to be like him. While she understands the high-pressure role her mother has to play in her father’s absence, she also confides in Srinivas that she can’t stand her.
On the other hand, Anila is a once free-spirited woman who has long lost herself to building a married life with an emotionally unavailable man. In a poignant scene, the pain of emotional distance from the husband is seen on Anila’s face when he jokes about “not knowing anything” as a 21-year-old, the age at which he married Anila. A witty and smooth Srinivas becomes a regular at Mira’s place and wins her mother’s affection while assuring Mira he is doing this to be closer to her. Curiously, Srinivas’s parents are not shown throughout the film.
There’s simmering tension between the three characters for the central part of the movie. You might judge Anila and wonder why she can’t see her daughter’s feelings. Of course, all this jealousy leads Mira to fall behind in her studies, which her mother had warned her against. On the other hand, Mira’s decision to raise her voice against sexually erring male students by getting them suspended results in a big conspiracy against her in school.
And here comes the second arc in the film––male peer jealousy and slut shaming––two normalized phenomenons in Indian schools. Even as a bright student and the first-ever Head Girl of the school, her teachers and friends betray her.
Girls Will Be Girls leaves much room for thought and stays with you long after you watch it. The complexity of the mother-daughter relationship fills much of the space in the film. Anila is protective because, like any mother, she wants the best for her brilliant daughter. She knows that girlhood, once lost, can never come back. Her goal in life is to ensure that Mira has better experiences and fewer regrets. Eventually, reality hits home, and Mira realizes that girls need to be girls with or without a boy because, well, boys are boys, no matter what crime they commit, no matter their age.
Mira’s journey reveals her mother’s quiet wisdom—girlhood is precious and fleeting, and mistakes can have lasting consequences. This nuance in the movie makes it a worthwhile watch and one of the best movies to have emerged for the evolved film choices of our audience.
As the film progresses and the nuances bloom, you realize why the movie won two awards at the Sundance Film Festival 2024. It also earned two nominations at the 40th Independent Spirit Awards to be held in February 2025. These accolades come as a huge achievement for the producers, actors Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal who, reportedly, funded the movie themselves in the absence of high-budget producers. As Richa Chadha mentioned in a recent interview – Audiences have evolved faster than the film industry. Girls Will Be Girls might be another testament to independent movies’ contribution to the film industry.
Review Courtesy of Neha Jha
Image Credit to Amazon Prime via The Hollywood Reporter