Girls Will Be Girls movie review: Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal’s production made a mark from the first film, the film is made powerful

Bollywood actors Ali Fazal and Richa Chadha turned producers for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival award-winning film, Girls Will Be Girls. While the actors have proven their acting prowess time and again, when they launched their home production, they were expected to deliver a realistic cinematic experience. The makers and cast of Girls Will Be Girls have brought something grounded, watchable and profound to the lead roles. The film has garnered accolades at various film festivals and is now available on Amazon Prime.

Story

The story revolves around Meera, played by Preeti Panigrahi, a 12th grade girl who becomes the head prefect of her school. Meera bears affection and resemblance to Sri, played by Keshav Binoy, who has moved to India after living in Hong Kong for three years. Meera’s mother Anila, played by Kani Kusruti, is an alumnus of the same school and wants her daughter to focus on her studies rather than getting distracted by anything else. In one scene Meera mentions, ‘I can’t stand him’, this makes it clear that the head prefect does not have an ideal relationship with her mother. The sour things turn bitter for Meera as her boyfriend Sri also turns out to be her mother’s friend. Girls Will Be Girls deals with shades of the dynamic change between Meera and Anila. As a viewer, one gets a chance to just sit and live each and every moment as this mother-daughter relationship moves in various directions. Ali and Richa’s film should also be given credit for portraying teenage romance beautifully and realistically.

acting

The strongest link of this film is its cast who have done a great job. Kani Kusruti, who mostly stays in the backseat, provides the base for Preeti to fly. This year, the actor has come up with two films ‘All We Imagine As Light’ and ‘Girls Will Be Girls’. Both these films will be remembered for many reasons and one of them will be the acting done through the eyes of Kani. Her character is so brilliantly written, watching her you will remember your mother in your teenage years. Girls Will Be Girls’ lead actress Preeti Panigrahi is in many ways someone who will stay with you. The way Preeti has played the role of a teenage girl, it does not seem like it is her debut. She comes across as a veteran of this art and makes you feel her pain and suffering. If actors like her come to films with such preparation, then it will be easier for filmmakers to make good films too (hopefully). Keshav Binoy Kiran’s work as Sri is also good. He can definitely be called the poster boy of such boys who make everyone their fan with their words and are often found in our schools and colleges. The actor has played this character with great intensity, so much so that despite everything said and done till the end, you still feel bad for him.

Direction and Writing

The hero of this film is its writer and director Shuchi Talati. Both her writing and direction are very good and commendable. Teenage romance could not have been shown in a better way than this. She had a strong grip on the film and was completely successful in saying what she wanted to say. There are some scenes where the filmmaker says a lot in just a few seconds. Like, women are the culprits of patriarchy, a child running to her mother for protection despite the tension in the relationship and Romeo defaming a girl after facing rejection. All these scenes are well planned in the film and add to this experience that we call Girls Will Be Girls. 

Decision

The film is amazing and if you were born in the 90s, Richa and Ali’s film will take you back to your school days, a time when mobiles were not a thing and romance was based on one-ring landlines. The film is simple and that is its strength, it doesn’t need any forced tadka to make it more interesting. The film moves at its own pace which is just right. It flows like water and leaves the audience relaxed. The characters are convincing. From teenage romance to the mother-daughter angle, the film presents everything with great conviction. Overall, Girls Will Be Girls should be counted among the top 5 best films of the year and should not be ignored at any cost.