- Tuesday, March 11, 2025
The film, set in 1990s Dehradun, follows 16-year-old Mira (Preeti Panigrahi) as her rebellious awakening intertwines with her mother Anila’s (Kani Kusruti) unfulfilled dreams
By: India Weekly
DIRECTOR Shuchi Talati describes her film “Girls Will Be Girls” as a complex love story between a mother and daughter, highlighting generational struggles for freedom within societal constraints.
The film, set in 1990s Dehradun, follows 16-year-old Mira (Preeti Panigrahi) as her rebellious awakening intertwines with her mother Anila’s (Kani Kusruti) unfulfilled dreams.
“For me, this film is a love story between a mother and daughter but a complicated love story. I wanted to talk about these two generations of women, who are both trying to get more freedom and break out of the boxes that society puts them in,” Talati said.
The film has received critical acclaim, including awards at the Sundance Film Festival, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, and the Mumbai MAMI Film Festival. At Sundance, it won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic category, and Panigrahi received a special jury award for her performance.
The 38-year-old filmmaker drew inspiration for the story from her personal experiences of “constant policing” during her teenage years. “Being a teenage girl and the constant policing and surveillance about whether that skirt is too short or the top is too tight… I feel most women, not just my generation, experience it,” she said.
Talati’s personal touch extends to the emotional depth of the story. “I’ve felt all of these things,” she said. “Mira is uncomfortable when her boyfriend and mother get close… I wanted to take feelings that are personal and deeply felt and then find the story further.”
The film features Kusruti as Anila, whom Talati described as her top choice due to her “live wire quality.” Kusruti also recently starred in Payal Kapadia’s “All We Imagine As Light“.
The cast also includes Kesav Binoy Kiron as Mira’s boyfriend, Sri, and Jitin Gulati. Talati emphasised that independent cinema allows her to explore such authentic human stories.
“Girls Will Be Girls” is an Indo-French co-production of Pushing Buttons Studios, Blink Digital, Crawling Angel Films and Dolce Vita Films.
