TIFF 2015 Spotlight: ANGRY INDIAN GODDESSES (2015) – India’s 1st All Female Drama

After much debate, discussion and a trend of what seems to be ‘female centric’ films in Bollywood, (met with both positive and negative voices) a movie that can truly be just that, is all set to release. Touted as being Bollywood’s first ever female buddy movie, ‘Angry Indian Goddesses‘ features a massive all woman ensemble cast with multiple stories and overlapping voices that is set to either further fuel the feminist debate, or add some much needed balance to the gender issue in Bollywood, in a big way! Directed by documentary filmmaker Pan Nalin, take a look at the explosive first look of ‘Angry Indian Goddesses‘. Read on and share your thoughts about movies like this below.

Update: Check out the first full trailer further down. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9751R5eO4k

While not much of the story can be determined from the, somewhat long for a first tease, trailer, it’s evident that the entire story is centered around 7 women. The story is kicked off when one of the characters announce their marriage, and her friends have to join her for the lavish extravaganza. This congregation starts to uncover details and backstory about the characters, creating the drama that the movie will be about. It’s not a lot to go on. The trailer itself acts as more of a sizzle reel of images from the movie, briefly introducing the lead characters, with some shockingly graphic images of fun, gal pal good times, intensity, mystery and enough material to get one excited for the film. While the film can be considered a mostly independent movie with newcomers, there are a few familiar faces involved.

The ensemble of 7 women cast range from veteran actresses to some whom are a few films old, and some debutants as well. The cast leads off with Tannishtha Chatterjee, (‘Bhopal: A Prayer For Rain‘) Sarah-Jane Dias, (‘Happy New Year‘) Amrit Maghera, Pavreen Gujral & Anushka Manchanda. The most recognizable face though, belongs to Sandy Mridul, a veteran of Independent Indian films. Mridul can be most notable to commercial film audiences in her role in ‘Saathiya‘ and indie audiences for her role in ‘Page 3‘. She is joined by Adil Hussein, another indie film veteran who has been seen in films like ‘English Vinglish‘ & ‘Life Of Pi‘. The film also stars Arjun Mathur, (‘I Am‘) in a yet to be revealed role.

‘Angry Indian Goddesses‘ is directed by a filmmaker most known for his award winning smaller scale films like ‘Samsara‘. Initially known for documentary films, Pan Nalin has won many international awards for his movies like ‘Valley Of Flowers‘, but this will be his most high profile feature film to date. The Director is known for handling sensitive topics and creating characters that have lot of internal struggle and complexity. It should be interesting to see how the writer / director handles writing 7 different women, from different walks of life, and have it all culminate in an engaging drama. The film has a lot against it given that it’s proclaiming itself as an all female buddy movie.

Until very recently, female centric films haven’t been of high interest to filmmakers in Bollywood. With the success of films like ‘Queen‘ (my Review here) and ‘Piku‘, this trend is steadily changing. 2014 saw a flurry of movies with a female lead, however, their success varied, as well as the genres each film was made under. The biggest consequence of this has been a feminist movement in Bollywood that has always been present, but has now been vindicated with the proven success of these movies. It’s still too early to tell if this film is trying to capitalize on the trend, or has an actual story to tell, unlike anything Bollywood audiences have seen more. ‘Angry Indian Goddesses‘ definitely has a lot to deliver in that regard, as all eyes will be on the film to portray real life women with real problems and not superflously awkward characters that have mostly graced Bollywood screens thus far.

https://youtu.be/xiAcUPx0Nps

‘Angry Indian Goddesses‘ is playing during the Toronto International Film Festival during September. With a wide release date of December 4th, 2015. 

What kind of expectations do you have from ‘Angry Indian Goddesses’?

Let me know in the comments below, or Tweet at me @theshahshahid. Subscribe to the site by typing your e-mail in the top corner for more Trailer discussions like this.