Bad Girl (2025 film)

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Bad Girl
Bad Girl (2025 film).jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byVarsha Bharath
Written byVarsha Bharath
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byRadha Sridhar
Music by Amit Trivedi
Production
company
Release dates
Running time
112 minutes [1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Bad Girl is a 2025 Indian Tamil-language coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Varsha Bharath, starring Anjali Sivaraman in the lead role. The film is produced and presented by Vetrimaaran under his Grass Root Film Company banner, along with Anurag Kashyap. After its premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam on 7 February 2025, the film released in theatres on 5 September 2025.

Contents

Plot

From her journey through high school and college, then out into the wider world, Ramya’s dream of finding the perfect guy is obstructed by societal mores, strict parents, unrequited love and the untrammelled chaos of her own mind. [2]

Cast

Production

The film marks the directorial debut of Varsha Bharath, who had earlier worked as an assistant director in Udhayam NH4 (2013), and with Vetrimaaran in his films, Visaranai (2016) and Vada Chennai (2018). [4] The film is produced and presented by Vetrimaaran under his Grass Root Film Company banner, along with Anurag Kashyap. [5] The coming-of-age film stars Anjali Sivaraman in the lead role, [6] alongside Shanthipriya, Saranya Ravichandran, [7] Hridhu Haroon, Teejay Arunasalam, Sashank Bommireddipalli and others in important roles. [8] The technical team consists of Preetha Jayaraman, Jagadeesh Ravi, Prince Anderson handling the cinematography, Radha Sridhar handling the editing and Amit Trivedi handling the music. [9]

Music

The film has music composed by Amit Trivedi in his Tamil debut. [10] The first single "Please Yenna Appadi Paakadhey" was released on 28 March 2025, and the second single "Naan Thani Pizhai" on 18 July. [11] [12] The soundtrack was released through Sony Music India on 8 August. [13]

Release

Premiere

Bad Girl premiered at the 54th International Film Festival Rotterdam on 7 February 2025. [14]

Theatrical

The film had its theatrical release on 5 September 2025. [15]

Accolades

The film won the NETPAC Award at the 54th International Film Festival Rotterdam. [16]

Reception

Janani K of India Today gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Director Varsha Bharath's 'Bad Girl' is a fantastic coming-of-age film of a woman. This lovely gem of a film lays bare patriarchy and showcases how women are slowly breaking away from generational trauma." [17] Prashanth Vallavan of Cinema Express gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Beyond its portrayal of a rebellious spirit, the structural constraints of the patriarchal system, and the nourishing powers of sisterhood, Bad Girl also offers an authentic examination of a flawed protagonist. [...] Bad Girl packs more such layers and carefully folds several societal commentaries within those layers. But where it gains your admiration is how it plays all of it subtly, focusing entirely on the coming-of-age story of Ramya, with the warts and charm of it all." [18] M Suganth of The Times of India gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Debutante Varsha Bharath's raw and realistic coming-of-age drama is that rare film that also manages to be a delicate character study of a young girl. [...] This is that rare female-centric film that never keeps nudging about the fact." [19]

Sanjana Ganesh of The Hindu wrote "Director Varsha Bharath’s Bad Girl brings to Tamil cinema, a rare, immersive, and layered, coming-of-age feature film told from a woman’s perspective." [20] Bharathy Singaravel of The News Minute wrote "While ‘Bad Girl’ certainly has heart, sometimes it’s hard to relate to its protagonist, who seems to be fighting a personal battle rather than attempting any feminist endeavour to question caste hierarchy." [21] Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in wrote "Bad Girl is a feminine, feminist riposte to films that explore the highs and lows of romantic relationships from the male perspective. Bharath’s ear for conversational dialogue and eye for scene-setting are so confident, so smooth that it’s sometimes easy to forget what she is doing here." [22] Rajasekar S of The Federal wrote "Varsha Bharath’s debut signals the arrival of a promising voice that could deliver even more powerful stories with greater dramatic intensity in the future. For its fresh perspective on female friendships, mother-daughter relationships, and the quest for independence, Bad Girl is a film that demands attention and sparks hope for more such narratives in Tamil cinema." [23]

Krishna Selvaseelan of Tamil Guardian wrote "Overall, ‘Bad Girl’ is hopefully the start of something new for Tamil cinema. There are many pieces of media in the last ten years in the West that tackle this subject, such as 2015’s ‘ The Diary of a Teenage Girl ,’ 2017’s ‘ Lady Bird ’ and the BBC show ‘ Fleabag .’ It should be celebrated that there is now a filmmaker who can explore something that has been a sore blind-spot in Tamil cinema." [24] Prathyush Parasuraman of The Hollywood Reporter India wrote "The film’s motions, even as they have a joyful skip, and thoughtful observations, begin to feel trivial and repetitive, until Bad Girl realises, alongside Ramya, that sexual desire is not, perhaps, the balm to her bane. But it is too late—the cynicism has set in, the knots feel impossibly tight, and any direction towards hope feels like a patch of sunlight, when what the film was after was a floodlit life." [25]

Controversy

Soon after the release of the teaser on 26 January 2025, director Mohan G. Kshatriyan on his X (formerly Twitter) handle claimed that the film is portraying Brahmins in a bad light, [26] following which several criticisms broke out in social media for promoting underage drinking and misrepresenting a specific community. [3] Criticisms were more directed towards the film's producers, Vetrimaaran and Anurag Kashyap, and the criticisms further escalated into personal attacks and trolls on Pa. Ranjith, and the families of Vijay Sethupathi and Vetrimaaran. [27] In reply to the backlash surfacing over the media, Varsha stated that her film isn't targeting any specific community and added that she can only make films that are relatable, familiar and personal to her. [28] Despite the film being certified 'U/A' by the Central Board of Film Certification, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court directed the Central government to remove the teaser from the social media, [29] after an argument that the film's teaser is depicting children in an offensive way. [30] The 'U/A' certificate was issued after many profanities were muted and a few intimate visuals, approximately 20%, were deleted from the film's final runtime of 112 minutes. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Bad Girl censored U/A; profanities heavily muted, intimate visuals trimmed". Cinema Express. 1 September 2025. Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  2. "Bad Girl". International Film Festival Rotterdam . Archived from the original on 26 February 2025. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  3. 1 2 Ganesh, Sanjana (18 February 2025). "Varsha Bharath interview: On 'Bad Girl', the talk surrounding the teaser, and working with Vetri Maaran and Anurag Kashyap". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 September 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  4. "There is no such thing as a woman only being a certain way: Varsha Bharath". The Times of India. 29 January 2025. Archived from the original on 16 May 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  5. B, Jayabhuvaneshwari (26 January 2025). "Bad Girl teaser: A coming-of-age drama featuring the trials and tribulations of being a woman". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 30 January 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  6. "Teaser of 'Bad Girl', presented by Anurag Kashyap and Vetri Maaran, out". The Hindu. 26 January 2025. Archived from the original on 12 February 2025. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  7. S, Ashwin (8 April 2025). "Saranya Ravichandran: Society places a lot of expectations on women". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 23 June 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  8. Kumar, Akshay (27 March 2025). "Bad Girl first single postponed owing to Manoj Bharathiraja's demise". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 28 March 2025. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  9. Sundar, Anusha (8 July 2025). "Bad Girl release date: Debutant Varsha Bharath's coming-of-age tale to hit big screens along with Madharasi". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  10. Kumar, Akshay (25 March 2025). "Varsha Bharath's Bad Girl first single update out". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 28 March 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  11. Kumar, Akshay (28 March 2025). "Bad Girl first single 'Please Yenna Appadi Paakadhey' out now". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 1 April 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  12. "வெற்றி மாறனின் "பேட் கேர்ள்" படத்தின் 'நான் தனி பிழை' பாடல் வெளியீடு". Dina Thanthi (in Tamil). 18 July 2025. Archived from the original on 26 July 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  13. "Bad Girl (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple Music . 8 August 2025. Archived from the original on 12 August 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  14. "Varsha Bharath's Bad Girl wins NETPAC Award at International Film Festival Rotterdam". The Indian Express. 8 February 2025. Archived from the original on 9 February 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  15. "Bad Girl to release in September". Cinema Express. 8 July 2025. Archived from the original on 5 August 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  16. "Tamil film 'Bad Girl' wins NETPAC Award at International Film Festival of Rotterdam". The Hindu. 8 February 2025. Archived from the original on 5 March 2025. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  17. K, Janani (5 September 2025). "Bad Girl review: A coming-of-age masterpiece about breaking patriarchal chains". India Today. Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  18. Vallavan, Prashanth (5 September 2025). "Bad Girl Movie Review: Defiant charm of rebellious spirit in colourful display". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  19. Suganth, M (5 September 2025). "Bad Girl Movie Review: A raw and realistic coming-of-age drama". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  20. Ganesh, Sanjana (5 September 2025). "'Bad Girl' movie review: Finally, a Tamil urban coming-of-age drama told through the lens of a woman". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X. Archived from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  21. Singaravel, Bharathy (5 September 2025). "Varsha Bharath's Bad Girl strives to be radically feminist without upsetting anyone". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  22. Ramnath, Nandini (5 September 2025). "'Bad Girl' review: A terrific journey through a woman's heart and soul". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  23. S, Rajasekar (5 September 2025). "Bad Girl review: Coming-of-age drama through female lens pushes boundaries". The Federal. Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  24. Selvaseelan, Krishna (5 September 2025). "Bad Girl - Good film". Tamil Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  25. Parasuraman, Prathyush (7 September 2025). "'Bad Girl' Movie Review: Varsha Bharath Delivers A Narcissistic Coming Of Age/ Rage Drama". The Hollywood Reporter India. Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  26. "Varsha Bharath's Bad Girl Bags NETPAC Award at International Film Festival Rotterdam Amid 'Brahmin' Controversy". News18. 8 February 2025. Archived from the original on 10 February 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  27. "Explained: The controversy surrounding Bad Girl's teaser and its Brahmin portrayal". India Today. 29 January 2025. Archived from the original on 10 February 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  28. "Bad Girl director Varsha Bharath on backlash: 'We live in a society where caste is a...'". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 13 February 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  29. "Vetri Maaran's 'Bad Girl' faces another hurdle; Court orders removal of the film's teaser from social media -- read more". The Times of India. 19 July 2025. ISSN   0971-8257. Archived from the original on 31 August 2025. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  30. Kumar, Akshay (20 July 2025). "Madras HC orders removal of Bad Girl film's teaser". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 5 August 2025. Retrieved 21 July 2025.