MOVIE OF THE WEEK September 13, 2024: GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS
Girls Will Be Girls isn’t the first movie to tackle the complexities of growing up, and it certainly won’t be the last. But writer/director Shuchi Talati approaches the ultra-relatable subject matter with such a delicate touch that it makes her story of a teen coming of age in 1990s India feel fresh and new. Simultaneously, it comments thoughtfully on the policing of girls and women who dare to flout convention and express themselves.
At 16, Mira (Preeti Panigrahi) is a top student at her strict boarding school, earning top marks and being named the school’s first female head prefect. Her teachers have high expectations for her, and so do her parents. Mira is happy to live up to those expectations until a new student arrives at school. Sri (Kesav Binoy Kiron) is a little older, very handsome, and almost instantly smitten with Mira. She likes him, too, very much, but the rules and norms that bring order to her world also frown upon anything that might distract her from her studies — or put her reputation as a “good girl” at risk.
Complicating matters further is Mira’s mother, Anila (Kani Kusruti), who’s both protective of her daughter’s future and keen on being perceived as a “cool mom,” especially when Sri is around. Perhaps a bit envious of Mira’s youth and potential, Anila seems to want to claim some of that energy for herself, to the point that it feels like she’s competing with her daughter for Sri’s attention. Add Mira and Sri’s teenage hormones into the mix — as well as a suspicious principal and boys who don’t take rejection well — and the result is an adolescent powder keg just waiting for a spark.
Which isn’t to say that Girls Will Be Girls is melodramatic or over the top in any way; in fact, it’s a quietly observed drama that relies on the tension created by characters having to suppress so much of what they’re feeling that when they do let loose, however briefly, the impact is significant. Talati demonstrates skill in directing her cast, with Panigrahi particularly memorable as Mira, whose curiosity and determination make it clear that she’s no pushover — she wants to succeed on her own terms. And it seems clear that she will. — Betsy Bozdech
Team #MOTW’s comments:
Pam Grady: Except for having to deal with her mom, Anila (Kani Kusruti), still a wild child in her 30s, life is pretty sweet for 16-year-old Mira (Preeti Panigrahi) at the start of Shuchi Talati’s winning coming-of-age feature debut. An ambitious striver, Mira scores a triumph when she is named the first ever female prefect at her boarding school, high in the Himalayas. If that wasn’t enough reason to celebrate, she also catches the eye of Sri (Kesav Binoy Kiron), the dreamy, sophisticated new boy. But even as Mira enjoys her new position and the new relationship that inspires the girl who always plays by the rules to experiment with sex, the ground under her feet shifts. She could be a victim—of bullying, of Sri’s manipulations—but she one thing in her favor and one champion she never expected. Talati vividly limns the dizzying rush of first love and the stirrings of erotic passion, the absolute horror of becoming a target at school, and the fractious relationship between mother and daughter. The drama is a terrific, if sometimes painful, recreation of that moment of transition between adolescence and adulthood, well deserving of its Sundance Film Festival Audience Award.
Sherin Nicole Prized boys and powerless girls. Patriarchy and women unfulfilled. These are the starting points for Girls Will Be Girls, but they are not its destination. What appears to be an awakening of sensuality is a war in camouflage. The story of Mira and her Mother emerges from an everyday battlefield, set at a high school and a home. While there is a boy who incites them, what they’re fighting for is a mother’s fulfillment and a daughter’s search for what is fulfilling. To that end, Shuchi Talati frames her scenes atypically but intriguingly, dipping them in nostalgic allure and relatability. By focusing on the curve of a body, a fluttering eye, or an undulation, Talati does not hide what is sensual but finds what is felt. In that culmination of self-sufficient power and visuals, Girls Will Be Girls is emotional turbulence that feels right.
Leslie Combemale It’s clear that writer/director Shuchi Talati’s strategy of using a majority female crew to build a safe space for the female performers was the right one. Lead Preeti Pangrahi is magnetic and 100% believable, and we are with her every moment she’s onscreen. That the film has so much specificity to Indian culture actually allows us to connect to the story more, not less. Girls WILL be girls, sexual awakening is confusing, and mother/daughter relationships are complicated, and that’s true the world over.
Jennifer Merin Girls will be Girls is Indian director Shuchi Talati’s narrative feature about Mira, a smart but naive teenage girl who is trying to figure out what being a woman is all about. The film follows the tremendous turmoil in the emotional life of this ‘everygirl’ as she tries to balance the expectations everyone has for her with her own curiosity and eagerness to explore her body and understand the role she is to play as she enters adulthood. There’s good story aplenty here and the performances are excellent — and, although the film is Indian in origin and reflects Indian culture, Girls will be Girls is universally relatable. Read full review.
Sandie Angulo Chen: Girls Will Be Girls is part coming-of-age story, part mother-daughter drama about a teen Indian girl named Mira who is the first girl to be named Head Prefect of her elite coed boarding school. Director Shuchi Talati explores how the rule-following Mira (Preeti Panigrahi) falls in love for the first time with a new student, Sri (Kesav Binoy Kiron). But where the story truly shines is when Mira’s mother Anila (Kani Kusruti) insists that Mira only see her “friend” Sri at their home. The teen romance turns into an emotional love triangle of sorts, delving into issues of gender, envy, and manipulation. A touching, well-acted film that’s grounded in nuanced, evocative performances.
Liz Whittemore Writer-director Shuchi Talati’s deliberately paced Girls Will Be Girls is an authentic portrait of sexual awakening that celebrates the small moments with care. Talati explores the complexity of the mother-daughter relationship, which often comes with an unspoken rivalry from generational trauma. Preeti Panigrahi gives a fearless breakthrough performance as Mira. Girls Will Be Girls is a universal tale as both a coming-of-age story and one about standing out in a society so determined to oppress women.
Nikki Fowler: Shuchi Talati brings a powerful India-based film: a young excelled teenage girl’s coming of age story which explores the dynamic relationship with her stifled mother, meeting a desirable young boy at school where she’s been appointed Prefect and navigating the sea of sexism and misogynist aggression of her male classmates and some of the girls and women that fall in line with their abuse. Preeti Panigrahi is amazing as Mira (16 years old) who stars opposite Kani Kusruti cast as Mira’s mother. Tension rises as Mira goes through an emotional maze of trying to balance her studies with her desire to explore her sexuality. Her path ultimately flares conflict at school and at home but not without her mother showing a good deal of empathy for her daughter’s exploration of her femininity and her journey into womanhood. The cinematography is warm, safe and encompassing as the perfect backdrop for this delicate, well-written and much needed challenge-fueled story.
Cate Marquis In Shuchi Talati’s Indian coming-of-age drama Girls Will Be Girls, smart but naive Mira learns a whole lot about people and life, after she is made the first female student Prefect at her strict co-ed school in India. The position puts her in charge of both leading and monitoring her fellow students, but perfect Mira is proud to be Prefect and takes her duties seriously. But things are made complicated by the double standard for boys, and also by Mira’s own budding sexual feelings, when a new student, a boy who transferred in from Hong Kong, takes an interest in her. The new boy not only captures Mira’s heart but then, when he comes over for study dates, charms her mother, with whom Mira has a tense relationship. Well-acted and well-written, Girls Will Be Girls hits universal notes about girls growing up anywhere, as well as ones specific to Indian culture.
FILM DETAILS:
Title: Girls Will Be Girls
Director: Shuchi Talati
Release Date: September 16, 2024
Running Time: 118 minutes
Language: English
Screenwriter: Shuchi Talati
Lead Performers: Preeti Panigrahi, Kani Kusruti, Kesav Binoy Kiron
Distribution Company: Juno Films
AWFJ Movie of the Week Panel Members: Sandie Angulo Chen, Betsy Bozdech, Leslie Combemale, Nikki Fowler, Pam Grady, Loren King, Cate Marquis, Jennifer Merin, Nell Minow, Sherin Nicole, Liz Whittemore
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Edited by Jennifer Merin
