After their star-studded wedding reception last month, actors Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal celebrated by taking their first production, 'Girls Will Be Girls', on the floors in Uttarakhand. The film which is being directed by debutante Shuchi Talati has already been in the news for the various prestigious grants it has received this past year.
The story is set in a boarding school in a small town in the Himalayan foothills and follows a 16-year-old Mira, whose rebellious coming of age is hijacked by her mother who never got to come of age. Earlier this year, the film won the Arte Kino prize and the VFF Talent Highlights Award at the Berlinale Co-Production Market. Pushing Buttons Studio had also conducted a free lighting workshop called UnderCurrent for women who wish to become gaffers in the industry in June 2022.
Multi-award-winning Malayalam actress Kani Kusruti has been roped into play the lead role. She has won the prestigious Kerala State award, Filmfare award, the Rome Prisma Award and the BRICS international awards in the past and is a name to reckon in the world of independent cinema. The film will also mark the debut and launch of two new young actors, Preeti Panigrahi and Kesav Binoy Kiron who will be essaying the lead roles alongside Kani Kusruti.
Talking about the film, Shuchi Talati, director of the film, said in a press statement, "I am overwhelmed by the process naturally and am very excited to make my first film. I feel confident about the script since I received validation due to the numerous grants our project has received. I hope I can live up to expectations. I am working with a fantastic set of actors and a great crew, so I feel grateful.”
Adding to her thoughts, actress and producer Richa Chadha, while speaking to Outlook, says, “I’m so happy and proud that a film and project that we have been working on for three years, our first ever production has finally gone on floors. I’m filled with so much gratitude and I’m so grateful that this project has the best team backing it, better than what we could have asked for. Each person who is working on the film, is so immensely talented and we couldn’t have asked for a better film / project to be our first.”
For the unversed, Shuchi and Richa have been friends since college. Chadda is extremely happy to have been able to be a part of Talati’s journey.
Speaking about their maiden production, Ali Fazal, said in the press statement, "We started this creators lab with the intent of backing new talent. 'Girls Will Be Girls' is the apt first film step for us in that respect.”
The film is an Indo-French Co-production being jointly produced by Pushing Buttons Studios, Crawling Angel Films and the French company, Dolce Vita Films.
