Female gaze that empowers
Ever since Girls Will Be Girls released on Prime Video, writer-director Shuchi Talati has been inundated with messages from the audience—some of them telling her that it took them back to their teenage years; others mentioning that they are finally seeing their mothers in a new light. For a film that has already garnered awards and accolades at international film festivals, including the World Cinema Dramatic (Audience) at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, is it even a surprise that it is winning hearts as well?
Talati’s directorial feature is a thoughtful coming-of-age drama about Mira, who is a teenager, her sexual awakening, rebellion, and sometimes strained relationship with her mother. “It comes from having felt all the feelings that these characters are feeling. We are all familiar with the school environment and the type of policing that takes place once you become a teenager.
Also, just being ashamed of being in your first relationship or the complicated feelings when you are a prefect and have to snitch on your friends because you want the teacher’s validation but you also want your friend to like you,” she elaborates. Since Talati is closer in age to Anila (the mother in the film, portrayed wonderfully by Kani Kusruti), the filmmaker also relates to the choices she makes. “I usually write from a place I feel deeply about and then I find the plot for it,” she smiles.
Talati believes, to have a female gaze helps, as most stories about sexual awakening end up sexualising the protagonist. “I wanted it to look real and raw and yet not exploitative. The other important thing was to focus on the emotions. For me, the most vulnerable moments in intimate scenes are not when someone touches or kisses but in the insecurities they have about their body.
Those moments reveal the most, and as a filmmaker, that is what I was interested in,” she says. She also wanted to address the legacy of shame, which is associated with sexuality and desire. “When I had a boyfriend in high school, I hid it from my best friend because I noticed how everyone spoke about girls who had boyfriends and who we thought were doing something sexual. I wanted to reflect on this environment, but I didn’t want the storytelling to shame the character. I wanted her to be someone whose desires are normal,” she says.
Talati was lucky to have found Mira in Preeti Panigrahi, who is being praised by critics. The newcomer was awarded the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting at the Sundance Film Festival for her nuanced performance.
Prior to making her first feature, the New York-based filmmaker has made short films including Mae and Ash and A Period Piece. For her first feature, she got Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal onboard as producers. Chadha also happens to be her college friend, and the two have earlier collaborated on a documentary and on a short film too. Talati says that she would love to juggle between India and the US for filmmaking.