Appeared online on Brown Girl Magazine on Sept. 23, 2015.
The streets were lined with orange barricades, celebrity sightings were viral and plentiful, and lines of ticket holders hugged the sides of the movie theater, waiting eagerly for the doors to open and the show to begin. This was the Toronto International Film Festival and on Friday, September 18, it was the site of the world premiere of director Pan Nalin’s latest film, “Angry Indian Goddesses.”
I lined up with two of my girlfriends, chatting about the events of our week and our expectations for the movie as we waited excitedly for the 9:00 p.m. show.
I watched the trailer but didn’t really know what to expect since it left the story line vague. The two-minute preview, set to the tune of a hip Bollywood fusion song (that later played on repeat in my head), showcased the film’s plot: girls, women, buddies, mothers, sisters, lovers, enemies, bitches, victims, angels, killers, and goddesses.
The final message told viewers that this is a “buddy movie about seven women who are on the edge and are very, very angry.”
Since the movie had been dubbed by many as “India’s first female buddy comedy,” I figured I was in for the lady version of “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” or a Bollywood’s take on “Bridesmaids.” But what I saw went way beyond giggles and girl talk.
Ishani Nath 