2025

Critics Review

3.00

Musings of a 'Girl'

Bad Girl is a film that is actually talking about choices. Even if you are particular about branding women as 'bad' and 'good' based on your moral standards, the film is actually talking about the freedom to choose between being either. In fact, as the film draws to a close with Ramya being a little confused as to what she wants from her life actually, she answers the question in the simplest way possible. She wants a home. And by home, she means a place where she can just be 'HERSELF'.(more)

Source: BharathVijayakumar, MovieCrow

3.50

A coming-of-age masterpiece about breaking patriarchal chains

One of the striking aspects of 'Bad Girl' is that it doesn't vilify the Brahminical family in which she is brought up or the men who break up with her. Instead, the film shows that women of both spectrums exist. Ramya's mother, a woman with a well-paying teaching job, is still a victim of the patriarchal family setup, whereas Ramya is a liberated soul. There's no black or white here. It's grey and all shades of it. Bad Girl is an evocative tale of a woman to whom life happens. She learns, and we learn from it.(more)

Source: Janani, India Today

3.50

A raw and realistic coming-of-age drama

This is that rare female-centric film that never keeps nudging about the fact. Anjali Sivaraman superbly captures the complexities of a restless millennial while Shanthi Priya provides a perfect counterpoint as an older woman who has managed to make her peace with the cards life has handed to her. The almost fly-on-the-wall cinematography by Preetha Jayaraman, Jagadeesh Ravi and Prince Anderson, Radha Sridhar's fantastic editing and Amit Trivedi's new-age-y score turn this film into a vibe.(more)

Source: Suganth, Times Of India

3.00

Finally, a Tamil urban coming-of-age drama told through the lens of a woman

Ramya's complex relationship with her mother comes through beautifully in Bad Girl because it transcends the bounds of the screen. Shantipriya, who plays the mother, is a disciplinarian caught in the shackles of a patriarchal notion of what is right and wrong. In her pursuit to ensure that Ramya is �good� and safe, her own merit as an uthami, someone who can do no wrong, is questioned(more)