GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS: Multi-Generational Growing Pains

The debut feature film from writer-director Shuchi Talati, Girls Will Be Girls follows an overachieving teenage girl at a strict Himalayan boarding school in the late 1990s as she experiences romance for the first time and struggles with the double standards applied to boys and girls, especially when it comes to policing their desires. Winner of the World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award as well as the Special Jury Award for Acting for lead actress Preeti Panigrahi, the film is a powerful examination of how the patriarchy has and continues to punish girls and women for pushing back against the narrow roles prescribed for them.

Placed On a Pedestal

When Mira (Panigrahi) is named her school’s first-ever female head prefect during an outdoor assembly with the breathtaking Himalayan foothills as a backdrop, her face expresses not so much surprise as satisfaction. A highly driven student who has spent her whole life being a good girl and being rewarded for it, Mira doesn’t just belong at the top of her class, she expects to be there—as does her overprotective mother, Anila (Kasi Kuruti), who went to the same school at a time when it was thought that no girl could ever be capable of filling the role of head prefect. A relatively young mother who married Mira’s father before she could explore the world outside the school walls, Anila now lives vicariously through her daughter and her accomplishments.

When Mira begins a romance with seductive new student Sri (Kesav Binoy Kiron), whose diplomat parents have deposited him at the school and are otherwise largely absent from his life, the young couple can barely find time to kiss without Anila appearing to offer a milkshake, dispense with advice, or even lie down next to them to read. Mira’s annoyance only grows when Sri appears to enjoy Anila’s attention a little more than is entirely appropriate; a natural charmer, he knows how to play to people’s weaknesses and desires to get what he wants from them, something that Mira gradually realizes and grows wary of as their relationship progresses.

However, Anila’s not just interfering with her daughter’s romance for her own gratification (though that’s certainly a bonus); it’s also to keep Mira from inadvertently stumbling on the long, winding road to adulthood—one that places far more obstacles in the way for girls than for boys. When Mira reports three boys for taking upskirt photos of their female classmates, the initial reaction of the female teacher she tells is to blame the girls for wearing their skirts too short. And when the same boys plan to get revenge on Mira by revealing her secret romance with Sri, Mira is threatened with far more severe punishment than they are. Boys are allowed to be boys, but girls cannot be anything less than perfect or they will face severe consequences.

Spring Awakening

Girls Will Be Girls is lit from within by Panigrahi’s incandescent performance. Her Mira is filled to the brim with smarts and self-respect and doesn’t hesitate to speak her mind. When Sri asks if he can kiss her for the first time, she says no before promptly kissing him on the cheek; when she decides she wants to have sex with him, she brings him with her to an Internet cafe where she does research on the male anatomy while taking detailed notes as though she’s preparing for an exam. Yet she’s also capable of being quite vulnerable; when Mira realizes, after an intimate moment with Sri, that he didn’t let on how much more sexual experience he has than her, she lets him know that he’s made her feel embarrassed and insecure. Throughout, Panigrahi portrays this mixture of maturity and naivety with remarkable honesty, making Mira instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever been on the cusp of adulthood; when she declares that she’s not sure if it’s puppy dog or “big dog” love, but she knows it’s love regardless, you know exactly what she means.

Panigrahi is ably assisted by Kiron, who embodies everything intoxicating and infuriating about first love as Sri, and Kuruti, who makes Anila incredibly empathetic even as you grow increasingly uncomfortable watching her interfere with Mira and Sri’s romance. There were moments when I was practically squirming watching Kiron and Kuruti interact on screen, worried that certain lines were about to be crossed. Yet Girls Will Be Girls doesn’t fall into such simple, salacious traps, making Anila a far more nuanced character with far more complex motivations. Because she became a wife and mother young, society decrees that she is supposed to recede into the background and relinquish the desire to be seen as a woman in her own right, something that she refuses to accept. Sri sees this before Mira does, telling her that the key to understanding her mother is understanding that she needs attention; it’s only in this pivotal moment that Mira is able to see both Anila and Sri through unclouded eyes.

Both Panigrahi and Kiron give strikingly assured performances considering that this is the first film role for each of them. This is a testament to director Talati’s ability to make her young actors feel comfortable and confident, especially during the intimate scenes that document Mira’s sexual awakening; indeed, the frankness with which the film handles such subjects as first-time sex and bodily autonomy is one of its major strengths. (It’s worth noting that Girls Will Be Girls also involved a predominantly female crew, including cinematographer Jih-E Peng and editor Amrita David, to help the women in the film feel free to let their guard down—a necessity when making a film so focused on aspects of the female experience.) While the film does drag during some moments of its nearly two-hour running time—not unusual for a debut feature—these characters and the naturalness with which they are portrayed will keep you engaged regardless. You may even find yourself continuing to wonder what they’re up to once the credits roll, as though they’re real people you’ve just checked in on for a brief moment in their lives.

Conclusion

There are no easy endings tied up with pretty bows in Girls Will Be Girls; after all, Mira is only just embarking on the long, complicated journey that is adult life, with many more obstacles lying in wait along the way.

Girls Will Be Girls opens at Film Forum in New York on September 13, 2024.