Girls will be Girls

On Friday 22nd October, some members of TIC met at Cinecitta theater in the Willem II straat to watch Girls will be Girls. This Indian film was part of the theater’s 6th annual Cinecitta International Film Festival – CIFF. The movie, directed by Shuchi Talati, depicts the story of an Indian girl’s coming of age in a strict boarding school. It is a sensitive portrayal of how women negotiate with their sexual desires in a conservative society that polices women’s bodies. The protagonist’s character is nicely etched out as a young girl caught between conforming to the strictures and traditions of the boarding school and giving in to her sexual and romantic desires.

Preeti Panigrahi, the actor in this lead role, does a stellar job of bringing out these tensions. The film also showed how women themselves internalize social mores about appropriate feminine conduct. This is evident in the female school teacher admonishing girls who don’t dress appropriately. She also counsels girls to not associate with boys. There was some tension between the protagonist and her mother presumably because of the latter becoming close to her boyfriend. This was an intriguing story line in the film. The relationship between the boyfriend and the mother was ambiguous. 

Some of us shared similar experiences of gender policing in schools. The film gave us a lot of food for thought about gender segregation in various cultures. Some of us felt that the film could have been better edited and that the story dragged on for a bit. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience with some poignant, emotional moments.