It is a bilingual film. English & Hindi. It is an coming of age drama film. Written & directed by Shuchi Talati. It stars Preeti Panigrahi, Kani Kusruti & Kesav Binoy Kiron.
An Indian & French co-production, It is Talati’ s feature directorial debut. It is also acting debut of both Panigrahi & Kiron.
The film is set in a boarding school in the Himalayan foothills. It centers around teenager Mira’s romance with a charming new student, her subsequent sexual awakening & at times strained relationship with her protective mother.
Released in January 2024 (Sundance) December 18 , 2024 (Prime Video).
Talati conceived the story of the film in 2018. Drawing from her own experiences as a young girl, her school in Vadodara. Enid Blyton’s book series Malory towers & St. Clare ‘s. The film was produced by a majority female crew in order to create a safe space where ‘girls could be girls’.
It was shot over 45 days in the northern Indian region og Uttarakhand & in the capital, Dehradun.
It entered the MAMI Mumbai Film festival 2024 & competed in the South Asia Competition section in October 2024. It received a special mention from the jury as well as the NETPAC award, the Young Critics Choice award & the film Critics Guild Gender Sensitivity award.
Rotten Tomatoes has given 8.2 /10. Getting favourable reviews. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter , Indian Critic Anupama Chopra, termed it ‘quietly heartbreaking’ & added that ‘female teenage sexuality has rarely been captured with this sensitivity & nuance in an Indian film.’
Panigrahi is an actor with promise. Kani Kusruti has been so good. As mother she looks so young, vibrant herself. But as the movie proceeds she is the axis of the story.
She can feel the mood swings of her daughter & later when needed she arrives to pick up the girl. No questions. Wow.
I had not planned to see it through but I wanted to know what happened next. It is engrossing. Also it comes to an end when it should.
The bond between the mother & the daughter is lovable. How much details you show on screen ? Be it a U or an A everybody has access. As a parent I worry more.
Asian Entertainment 