Boarding School Adventure is fluffy, fluffy and fun
At an all-girls boarding school in a mountain town, a group of students struggle with strict rules, constant pressure to conform, and the burden of inheritance. They seek ways to break free from their ambitions, inhibitions and obsessions, even as the hawkish authorities of Bandana Valley Girls School pressure them to pull the reins.
The seven-episode Amazon Prime Video show centers around a proud sorority titled – Big girls don’t cry (BGDC) – This is the mantra that they live by. The adventure of growing up is frothy and flimsy as the girls prepare to graduate their final year of high school. It’s fun though, partly thanks to story elements that promise some depth and partly to the lead actors who get into the swing of things quickly and with conviction.
However, this may not be true for the entire series. Big girls don’t cryProduced by Nitya Mehra and directed by him along with Karan Kapadia, Sudhanshu Saria and Kapal Naithani, takes quite a while to warm up and build momentum. It is not until the third episode that the characters begin to stand out from the crowd individually and fully reveal their forms.
Once that happens, Big girls don’t cryAashi Dua, produced by Sara and Karan Kapadia, is charming enough as a young adult drama that has a thing or two about fitting in and breaking out, if only in a manner that keeps complexities at bay. As long as one does not expect interesting insights into campus life and the challenges it poses, the show does not fail to engage and entertain.
Kavya Yadav (Vidushi), joins Vandana Valley Girls School as a scholarship student. Gifted and determined, she does her best to be accepted by a sisterhood made up of members from far more privileged backgrounds. He makes steady progress, but the hiccups don’t stop because he’s among people who are moving sharply away from him temperamentally.
Two best friends, Jayashree Chhetri (Tenzin Lakila) and Ruhi Ahuja (Aneet Padda) have no such problems but find themselves up against matters of the heart that threaten their bond. The former is royal, a Nepalese princess made by her grandmother to be empress in place of her ailing mother. The latter is the daughter of a constantly bickering couple – Vipin (Mukul Chadha) and Uma (Raima Sen) – who have more say in running the 75-year-old school.
Noor Hasan (Afrah Saeed), Leah “Ludo” Joseph (Avantika Vandanapu) and Anjaida “Plagi” Rawat (Dalai) complete the sextet that revolves around the storyline. Noor, who wants to be school captain in his final year, wants to drop his surname to hide his identity. Ludo, a talented hoopster, has set his sights on sports captaincy. All that stylish girl seems to want is sex.
Apart from the teachers and administrators led by strict principal Anita Verma (Pooja Bhatt), the plot focuses on three other students – a rebellious Diya Malik (Akshita Sood), a rebellious debater Manjori Halder (Manjori Kar) and a sporty wit Mendiratta. (Himanshi Pandey). Each of them has their moment in the sun.
The girls, however, have their hands full dealing with a number of problems, most of which stem from the presence of boys from nearby Wood Oak High School, particularly Asad (Bodhisattva Sharma) and Veer (Aditya Raj). Of course, the school has a zero-tolerance policy for fun and gaiety. Girls fight endlessly to break the shackles.
The show rarely reveals the teachers working in the classroom, but the women are exactly what the institution wants them to be – indomitable and smiling, none other than Dean of Education Jeanette D’Souza (Lovelyn Mishra). Drama teacher Alia Lamba (Zoya Hussain), from the class of 2009, is an exception – she’s more of a friend than a coach.
The story incorporates broad themes – class dynamics, identity, sexual orientation, feminist assertions, rebellion, love, friendship, heartbreak, anger and rivalry – which often prove too much to chew due to the limited scope. Big girls don’t cry. But that lack doesn’t take away from the innocent joy that the series delivers in abundance as the girls fight and scream to stay true to the school’s motto – “Know thyself.”
The many obstacles the girls face as they navigate their senior year of high school are never life-threatening or even life-changing, but the run-ins, snuffs, and dead-ends they encounter give them the wisdom and clarity they seek.
Big girls don’t cry It may not be your ultimate campus drama, but it has enough meat at its heart that it hits notes of import frequently. The event is visually spectacular. There are scenes in the mountainous environment that lend the physical appeal of the series. It is full of breathing spaces – hostel rooms, school corridors, basketball arenas, playgrounds, forests and water halls.
The performances keep the show on par even when there doesn’t seem to be much happening except for a lot of chatter on screen. Pooja Bhatt lends gravitas Big girls don’t cry. Zoya Hussain is perfect as a teacher who unwittingly sparks an anti-patriarchal rebellion. Mukul Chadha and Raima Sen, star as a wealthy couple trapped in a loveless marriage, among others who are separated.
The younger cast members shoulder the burden thrust upon them with gusto. Afrah Saeed, a girl caught between her lofty aspirations and mundane considerations of the collective good, has the most beautiful role. He does full justice to it.
Avantika Vandanapu is the second most feared basketball star to fall out of her own accord. It goes without saying that the others – Tenzin Lakila, Aneet Padda and Dalai – are less so. when Big girls don’t cry The score, along with its casting, isn’t all there is to the series. Its greatest strength is that it knows itself and does not torture itself unnecessarily.
