Season 1 |
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Episode Guide
Episode 1 – | Review Score – 3/5
Episode 2 – | Review Score – 3/5
Episode 3 – | Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 4 – | Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 5 – | Review Score – 3/5
Episode 6 – | Review Score – 3/5
Episode 7 – | Review Score – 3/5
Big Girls Don’t Cry is the latest Amazon Prime Original from India to grace our screens. With themes of sisterhood, identity, self-love and acceptance, the coming-of-age show follows seven girls who are in their final year at the elite all-girls boarding school, Vandana Valley.
Each of the girls has some plan or the other as they hope to fulfil it before their school year comes to an end, whether it is extracurricular activities, love or a career. As they veer on a path of self-discovery, they are also guided by their headstrong principal, Anita Verma and drama teacher, Aliya.
Helmed by Nitya Mehra, the show is directed by her, Sudhanshu Saria, Karan Kapadia, and Kopal Naithani. The main ensemble of students are played by promising actors Avantika, Vidushi, Aneet Padda, Lhakiyla, Afrah Sayed, Dalai and Akshita Sood. Along with them, we also have some familiar faces in secondary roles such as Pooja Bhatt, Leena Sharma, Mukul Chadda, Raima Sen, Zoya Hussain and Arjun Mathur.
Big Girls Don’t Cry Season 1 begins with the BGDC gang consisting of Ludo, JC, Pluggy, Roohi and Noor having big plans to leave behind a campus legacy. However, their dynamic is upturned when Kavya, a mysterious student suddenly enrols and tries to get into their gang. Elsewhere, their fates are also tied with the rebellious feminist poet, Dia who wants to create change by doing everything possible to disrupt the hardcore traditions at Vandana Valley.
We do have to say, the story is all over the place. It starts in an episodic manner before narrowing down on 2-3 subplots to tie up some loose ends by the Season 1 finale. But because it cannot decide on a structure, it feels like there are just too many variables involved, having our attention scattered. While it starts out as a strong ensemble story, we end up only focusing on a couple of characters.
As for the characters, the BGDC gang is well-established with each member being a certain archetype, a type of classmate we all may have known or befriended. The young actors all do quite well even when they sometimes get a mouthful of dialogues which may be too prosaic for real life. Yet their commitment to their roles makes us believe their story.
However, the oddballs, Kavya and Dia are not strong enough to catch up with the BGDC gang. While Roohi goes from being an unlikeable to a sympathetic character, due to Dia’s lack of backstory and strong motives, she seems unnecessary and annoying. Sure, she is used as a prop to call out privileged people’s superficial activism, but we could have had that with existing characters like literal royalty, JC or any of the many elite, rich bratty kids that make up VVGS.
Meanwhile, poor Kavya who is introduced as the #1 protagonist of this ensemble story is quickly relegated to the background with minimum screentime and dialogues. It’s as if she is forgotten by the writers which is a shame as she is what drives a part of the main conflict and has a complex character arc.
We do have to talk about the beautiful, hilly terrain of Vandana Valley which is also a character in itself. The art direction is commendable as it immerses us in the story and makes us nostalgic for our school days. Along with the pop ballads that highlight the overdramatic teen concerns of exams and crushes, Big Girls Don’t Cry has the aesthetic down to the tee.
It does get a little idealistic in the second half of the show when they start being more overt than subtle with the didactic messages, but it doesn’t have to be a perfect show. It has heart and it is sweet and relatable, a little cringe at times but that is how teenagers are.
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Verdict - 5/10
5/10