Girls Will Be Girls Review: Coming-Of-Age Story Lauds For Performances (image:x.com/chhabs)

Shuchi Talati’s Girls Will Be Girls which won two prizes at the Sundance Film Festival released on Prime Video on December 18. The coming-of-age drama receives accolades for exemplary writing and performances by Preeti Panigrahi and Kani Kusruti.

The movie is centered on the relationship between mother and daughter and the resultant conflicts. “Centred on the girl’s relationship with her over-protective mother and her negotiations with her school’s disciplinary norms, the film subtly and skilfully spells out the repercussions of the restrictions that a conservative society subjects women to. Talati treats teen desires and maternal instincts with striking dexterity,” NDTV reports.

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The Quint praises the direction and camerawork of the film. “Talati’s sensitive direction and Jih-E-Peng’s camerawork are exquisite – there is no ‘rush’ throughout the film, the gaze is tender. . . Girls Will Be Girls is the perfect example of a film that understands how to pace the slower moments to create a cohesive and engaging narrative.”

“Female teenage sexuality has rarely been captured with this sensitivity and nuance in an Indian film,” The Hollywood Reporter India writes about Girls Will Be Girls. Lauding the performance of Preeti Panigrahi, it observes Panigrahi as the “find of the year”.

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Meanwhile, the Times of India reviews, Kani Kusruti plays the most challenging role as Anila. “Repressed and contradictory, Anila embodies the long-term effects of a culture that stifles women’s desires and agency. Her dynamic with Mira is complex, sometimes veering into unsettling territory as her actions push the narrative toward an unexpected, almost erotic thriller tone,” TOI observes.