Bad Girl

Varsha Bharath | India | 2025 | 115' |

| IFFR 2025

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, in Varsha Bharath’s naughty and affecting comedy.

Ramya’s life is a whirlwind of dreams, desires, and a longing for freedom. Growing up in Tamil Nadu, she struggles to reconcile the traditions of her conservative upbringing with the chaos of her inner world. From a secret high school romance with Nalan – nurtured in the digital haven of Yahoo Messenger – to her college relationship with the charming but unreliable Arjun, Ramya’s journey is one of love, loss, and resilience in all its messy, relatable glory.

In its first act, filmmaker Varsha Bharath races us through the untrammelled chaos of Ramya’s mind, offering the perfect introduction to this flawed, fascinating, all-too-human character. Caught between the reality she lives and the life she envisions, Ramya’s journey reimagines romcom tropes, addressing generational divides and the struggles of a young woman carving her own path in a world that often limits her choices. Bad Girl is a pacy, energetic coming-of-age comedy, driven by Anjali Sivaraman’s exuberant and utterly relatable portrayal, which captures Ramya’s moody, vibrant, and joyous complexity with remarkable depth.

– Vanja Kaludjercic