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Images: Luxbox Films
This article might contain spoilers for Girls Will Be Girls (2024).
Tears flooded my eyes as I watched Girls Will Be Girls when Sri matter-of-factly tells Mira, "You know her. She needs attention," as an oblivious Anila quietly wipes the kitchen counter in the background. Mira questions him, "So you're using her?" This scene wrapped an emotion I wasn't prepared for -- a profound sympathy for my Maa (mom), whose love and devotion my family has often taken for granted. Sri's wry remark peels back a brutal yet often-ridiculed loneliness that a lot of mothers endure.
I started 2025 on an emotional high with the globally acclaimed Shuchi Talati direction, starring Preeti Panigrahi as Mira, Kani Kusruti as her mother, Anila, and Kesav Binoy as Sri. As my Maa is my closest confidante and anchor, the film's single daughter-mom dynamic was deeply personal and resonant for me. I believe a lot of daughters in my generation would relate.
Let's Talk About Anila
Mira and Anila's relationship is not the most harmonious, yet is layered with raw emotions that connect with real women and their mothers. From dancing together one minute to having disagreements the next, their interactions are filled with moments of tension, and vulnerability, reflecting the complexities of mother-daughter dynamics.
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This struck a chord with me. Growing up, my Maa and I used to be the only ones at home most of the time as my father travelled a lot for work. As she almost singlehandedly raised me, a single child, our bond grew deep and inseparable. My favourite childhood memories are of our silly inside jokes that made our tummies hurt!
Early in Girls Will Be Girls, Mira recounts in a scene, "I cannot stand my mom!" Of course, there have been times when I have felt the same about my very own Anila. My Maa being the only one I go back home to, and her constantly pushing me to focus on my studies, often bothered me. I wondered, "Why doesn't she let me be?"
Not to mention, when my Maa always wanted to know more about my life away from home, whom I'm friends with, why I had not returned her call, etc. "Can she not live her own life?" was what I thought. Yet, it never struck me-- My life had inadvertently become her entire life. I had inadvertently become her only companion.
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Anila's solitude in the film is not overt. She isn't crying about being a solo parent or wallowing in grief, yet, her isolation is palpable. She too had put her own life on hold for Mira's board exams. She too wanted to know what her daughter was up to at school or with her friends. She too, in Sri's harsh yet true words, "needed attention."
More Than What Meets The Eye
Yes, Anila has no support and seems lonely and desperate for attention. However, Girls Will Be Girls explores a refreshing version of motherhood on screen, one that is realistic and relatable. Unlike the stereotypical description of a self-sacrificing mom, she is seen balancing her personal desires and responsibilities as a mother.
Not just mothers, but most women in films are shown as two-dimensional characters often confined to the roles of caregivers, nurturers, or helpers, with little room for their own ambitions, flaws, or personal lives. Anila, however, challenges that by indulging in hobbies like reading romance novels or dancing to 70s retro songs.
Although Anila is a stern parent when it comes to Mira's studies or dating, she is a loving, supportive parent in other aspects like helping her daughter find her style or expressing herself. My Maa is the same. Growing up, I could share almost anything with her and wear whatever I liked. That did not mean I could fail an exam and get away with it!
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Anila is an example of most mothers today, who want their children, especially daughters, to explore themselves and break free from the societal shackles that they once endured. This is balanced with assertiveness, control, and a sense of responsibility that stems from the desire to protect them from the pressures of the world.
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Girls Will Be Girls masterfully navigates a mother's intricate dance between building a 'friendly' relationship with her children while being a stern parent to them at the same time. Anila's character reveals the complexity of motherhood, where she must navigate her own desires for freedom with her responsibilities as a mother.
The final scene in the film, when Mira asks Anila, "Do you want oil?" is an antidote to the latter's "need for attention." The roles are reversed, as a daughter carefully massages her mother's head making her feel pampered and secure. In that quiet exchange, we see that mother-daughter relationships are cyclical, each giving and receiving in their own time.
Views expressed by the author are their own.
STP Fixations is a series dedicated to anything and everything that captures our attention - a scene, anecdote, dialogue, character or a trivial, random bizarreness. A fixation over a memory that sometimes makes sense (or sometimes doesn’t) but is stuck in our hearts and minds long after the moment is over.