Bad Girl (Tamil, 2025)
Written & Directed: Varsha Bharath
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| https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/vetri-maaran-anurag -kashyap-bad-girl-teaser-mohan-g-brahmin-protagonist/article69149508.ece |
The feminists often complain that they are living in a toxic world filled with archaic rules dictated by a patriarchal society. They frequently quote excerpts from ancient Indian scriptures, such as the Manu Smriti, to support their argument. Spiritual masters, on the other hand, defend the ancient text, saying it has been taken out of context.
Nevertheless, the effort to rectify the ancestors' wrongs never ceased. The aggressive struggle by these warriors may have just shifted the balance. Instead of finding the right place within the gender dynamics, they may have gone too far. They forget that both genders are biologically designed differently to perform different roles.
This realisation must have dawned on the protagonist by the end of the film. Ramya begins as a teenager in a strict Brahmin family, deeply immersed in traditional beliefs, such as not entering the kitchen during menstruation and adhering to the family's hierarchical order. She feels suffocated because her school is similarly rigid. The private school maintains strict discipline, and to make matters worse, her mother also teaches there.
Unable to cope with her challenges at school, such as being caught in close proximity with a boy and failing miserably in her exams, Ramya's parents decide to send her to a boarding school. Things go awry without parental supervision. She goes rogue, befriending seniors, smoking, drinking, and engaging in casual sex.
A quick look at her behaviour might suggest that Ramya is showing all the obvious signs of a typical Gen-Z, or it could be something more alarming, like bipolar disorder. She believes she is the centre of the universe, is hedonistic, and has tangled priorities. The recurring theme is a desire for validation and immediate gratification. Ramya also connects better with animals than with humans. A pet means more to her than her own parents. Of course, these are merely distractions from the main issue.
The years dragged by. After many failed relationships, fleeting jobs, changing circles of friends, and a strained relationship with her family, Ramya is in her mid-thirties. She realises her peers have settled into life and have a clear path to follow, while she is still moving forward, with no permanent place to stay and no one to return to each night.
She believes there could be value in following the path most commonly taken by those who came before us.
P.S. Upon the release of its trailer, the producer and director received plenty of brickbats for depicting underage drinking, portraying the Brahmins negatively, and for vulgarity. Protests were taken to court, and vulgarities were bleeped. Still, this reflects reality. In every community and society, some outliers follow the least conventional path. It suits them just fine. The moral guardians prefer to whitewash society, suggesting that everyone follows a single, paved path.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
