Angry Indian Goddesses
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''Angry Indian Goddesses'' is a 2015 Indian
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
-language drama film directed by
Pan Nalin Nalin Kumar Pandya, popularly known as Pan Nalin, is an Indian filmmaker, best known for directing award-winning movies like '' Samsara'' (2001), '' Valley of Flowers'' (2006), '' Angry Indian Goddesses'' (2015) and the semi-autobiographical ' ...
and produced by
Gaurav Dhingra Gaurav Dhingra (born 24 March 1980) is an International film and television producer and film entrepreneur. He is the Founder of Jungle Book Entertainment along with Pan Nalin, director of award-winning films like Samsara and Valley of Flower ...
and
Pan Nalin Nalin Kumar Pandya, popularly known as Pan Nalin, is an Indian filmmaker, best known for directing award-winning movies like '' Samsara'' (2001), '' Valley of Flowers'' (2006), '' Angry Indian Goddesses'' (2015) and the semi-autobiographical ' ...
under the banner of Jungle Book Entertainment. It stars
Sandhya Mridul Sandhya Mridul is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi films and television. She is most known for her roles in films like '' Saathiya'' (2002) and ''Page 3'' (2005) and was first runner up on the reality dance show '' Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (Seas ...
,
Tannishtha Chatterjee Tannishtha Chatterjee is an Indian actress and director who is known for her work in several Bollywood, Hindi and English language, English Independent film, independent films. For her performance in the film ''Dekh Indian Circus'', she won the ...
,
Sarah-Jane Dias Sarah-Jane Dias is an India, Indian actress, TV host, video jockey, Model (person), model and beauty pageant titleholder who won the title of Femina Miss India, Femina Miss India World in 2007 and represented India at Miss World 2007. She was a ...
,
Anushka Manchanda Anushka Manchanda aka Kiss Nuka (born 11 February 1984) is an Indian singer, music producer, composer, actress, and former VJ. She came to prominence as a member of the Indipop girl group Viva!. In 2018, she adopted the artistic name Kiss N ...
,
Amrit Maghera Amy Maghera (formerly Amrit Maghera) is a British model and actress, working in Hindi, English language, English and Punjabi language, Punjabi films. From 2015 to 2017, she appeared in the British soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' as Neeta Kaur. Career ...
,
Rajshri Deshpande Rajshri Deshpande is an Indian actress. She gained international recognition for her performance in Pan Nalin's drama film '' Angry Indian Goddesses''. She then portrayed the title character in Sanal Kumar Sasidharan's ''Sexy Durga'' and recei ...
, and
Pavleen Gujral Pavleen Gujral is an Indian actress and stage host hailing from Delhi. She is known for her roles in Angry Indian Goddesses, Bhor, City of Dreams, Marzi, Gehraiyaan, Sukhee. Early life Gujral was born and raised in Delhi, India. She comple ...
with
Adil Hussain Khandkar Mohammad Adil Hussain (; born 5 October 1963) is an Indian actor who is known for his work in several Indian independent and mainstream film productions, as well as international cinema, in films such as '' The Reluctant Fundamentali ...
. It was screened in the Special Presentations section of the
2015 Toronto International Film Festival The 40th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 September 2015. On 28 July 2015 the first wave of films to be screened at the Festival was announced. Jean-Marc Vallée's ''Demolition'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and N ...
, where it finished second for the
People's Choice Award The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the Fan (person), fans and Public, general public. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined us ...
.


Plot

Freida is a fashion photographer who invites a group of friends to her family's home to announce her wedding. The group, from all over India, consists of Madhurita or Mad, a Bollywood singer, Pamela Jaswal or Pammy, a
trophy wife A trophy wife is a wife who is regarded as a status symbol for the husband. The term is often used in a derogatory or disparaging way, implying that the wife in question has little personal merit besides her physical attractiveness, requires subs ...
, Suranjana or Su, a businesswoman, and Joanna or Jo, an aspiring actress. Nargis, an activist, later joins the party. The announcement sets off a chain of reactions, letting out hidden secrets from all of the women. Freida explains that her father will not join her for the wedding, and Mad's boyfriend, who comes looking for her, explains that she is depressed and suicidal. After the announcement, the women descend upon
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
. Thus begins an impromptu
bachelorette party A bachelorette party (United States and Canada) or hen night (United Kingdom, UK, Republic of Ireland, Ireland and Australia) is a party held for a woman (the bride or bride-to-be) who will soon be Marriage, married. While Beth Montemurro conclud ...
, and they begin to bond. Everything's set for a night of celebration. There's only one issue: Frieda won't say who her fiance is. As they banter their way through celebration, their conversation, derived entirely from improvisations among the actors, covers everything from sex to street harassment to the buff (and often shirtless) next-door neighbour. During the trip, the women are harassed and they react boldly. Their harassers are enraged and they are shaken. As the holiday progresses, we become acquainted with the women's dreams, desires, fears and, above all, their unwavering bond with one another. Later, the women learn that Freida will marry Nargis (which was illegal under the IPC section 377 until 6 September 2018). On the eve of the wedding, the group decides to have a picnic on the beach. At the picnic, a heated argument between Jo and the rest of the group regarding her accent leads Jo to walk out, but the party continues till late into the night. When they decide to go home, they look for Jo. She is found dead on the beach, apparently raped. The doctor, who arrives in the ambulance, refuses to treat her before the police come as she is already dead. The police arrive shortly and the police officer in charge conducts his preliminary inquiries in a manner that shames the women, reiterating their lack of faith in a patriarchal society that treats women shabbily. They return home, distraught and frustrated. Su's daughter Maya had followed Jo when she left the party and took photos of her. The pictures reveal that it was the group of six men who had harassed the friends earlier that gang raped and killed Jo. Su heads back to the beach with a gun. The rest of the group chases after her. Su shoots 4 of the rapists before Nargis stops her. Mad takes the gun and kills the other two. At Jo's funeral, the group makes a series of sentimental speeches, Nargis' speech summarizing the worth of a woman and hopes that in the next lives of women, they will be able to write their own stories. The police officer interrupts the ceremony, asking for a confession of guilt from the women and wanting them to stand up. The story has an open-ended conclusion, with the entire congregation in the church standing up in solidarity with the women.


Cast

*
Sarah-Jane Dias Sarah-Jane Dias is an India, Indian actress, TV host, video jockey, Model (person), model and beauty pageant titleholder who won the title of Femina Miss India, Femina Miss India World in 2007 and represented India at Miss World 2007. She was a ...
as Freida De Silva, a fashion photographer and the bride *
Tannishtha Chatterjee Tannishtha Chatterjee is an Indian actress and director who is known for her work in several Bollywood, Hindi and English language, English Independent film, independent films. For her performance in the film ''Dekh Indian Circus'', she won the ...
as Nargis Nasreen, a revolutionary who is adversaries with Su *
Anushka Manchanda Anushka Manchanda aka Kiss Nuka (born 11 February 1984) is an Indian singer, music producer, composer, actress, and former VJ. She came to prominence as a member of the Indipop girl group Viva!. In 2018, she adopted the artistic name Kiss N ...
as Madhurita aka "Mad", a Bollywood singer and friend of Freida *
Sandhya Mridul Sandhya Mridul is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi films and television. She is most known for her roles in films like '' Saathiya'' (2002) and ''Page 3'' (2005) and was first runner up on the reality dance show '' Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (Seas ...
as Suranjana aka "Su", a businesswoman and mother of 6-year-old Maya *
Amrit Maghera Amy Maghera (formerly Amrit Maghera) is a British model and actress, working in Hindi, English language, English and Punjabi language, Punjabi films. From 2015 to 2017, she appeared in the British soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' as Neeta Kaur. Career ...
as Joanna Mendes aka "Jo", an aspiring actress and cousin of Freida *
Rajshri Deshpande Rajshri Deshpande is an Indian actress. She gained international recognition for her performance in Pan Nalin's drama film '' Angry Indian Goddesses''. She then portrayed the title character in Sanal Kumar Sasidharan's ''Sexy Durga'' and recei ...
as Lakshmi, Freida's maid *
Pavleen Gujral Pavleen Gujral is an Indian actress and stage host hailing from Delhi. She is known for her roles in Angry Indian Goddesses, Bhor, City of Dreams, Marzi, Gehraiyaan, Sukhee. Early life Gujral was born and raised in Delhi, India. She comple ...
as Pamela Jaiswal aka "Pammy", a gold medalist turned housewife *
Arjun Mathur Arjun Mathur (born 18 October 1981) is a British people, British-Indian people, Indian actor working predominantly in Bollywood, Hindi films, web series and television serials. He was seen internationally in the British drama series ''Indian Su ...
as Zain, Madhurita's boyfriend *
Adil Hussain Khandkar Mohammad Adil Hussain (; born 5 October 1963) is an Indian actor who is known for his work in several Indian independent and mainstream film productions, as well as international cinema, in films such as '' The Reluctant Fundamentali ...
as a Goa Police Superintendent *Jeffrey Goldberg as Chris *
Vikram Kochhar Vikram Kochhar is an Indian actor known for his roles in Indian television and Hindi cinema. Kochhar graduated with arts degree from National School of Drama in 2009. Kochhar is known for his roles in ''Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola'' (2013), ''Gha ...
as an agent *Anuj Choudhary as the neighbour *Rajesh Karekar as Tony *Dr. Swapnil Salkar as the doctor *Kkunal Shinde as a voice over artist


Soundtrack

The film's music was composed by Cyril Morin and produced by Super Cassettes Industries Limited. Song lyrics were written by Raman Negi, Anushka Manchanda, and Dr. Swapnil Salkar.


Title sequence

The film's opening title sequence was designed by Plexus, a Mumbai-based VFX and animation studio. The title sequence was named by Artofthetitle.com as one of the top ten title sequences of 2015. The studio's founders and motion graphics artists Vijesh Rajan and Yashoda Parthasarthy were also interviewed by the Artofthetitle.com staff about their process for designing the title sequence. The title sequence was asked to be censored and blurred in its entirety by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for its Indian release.


Release

The film was released in two versions: an international version, and an Indian version. The international version which was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival is not censored and does not have an interval, unlike the Indian version.


Reception

On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film has an approval rating of 61% based on 18 critics, with an average rating of 5.9/10. Namrata Joshi of ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' wrote "
Pavleen Gujral Pavleen Gujral is an Indian actress and stage host hailing from Delhi. She is known for her roles in Angry Indian Goddesses, Bhor, City of Dreams, Marzi, Gehraiyaan, Sukhee. Early life Gujral was born and raised in Delhi, India. She comple ...
is a revelation and
Sarah-Jane Dias Sarah-Jane Dias is an India, Indian actress, TV host, video jockey, Model (person), model and beauty pageant titleholder who won the title of Femina Miss India, Femina Miss India World in 2007 and represented India at Miss World 2007. She was a ...
shows admirable poise". Mohar Basu of ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
''said "Alas, the story is never supported by a solid screenplay. The film's pace is a problem and though things gear up in the second half, it ends as a loopy mess". Sweta Kaushal of ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...
'' was of a different opinion, she stated "Ultimately, Angry Indian Goddesses is a decent watch as long as the fun lasts but tumbles downhill with gathering pace as the 'anger' kicks in". In the West the film was poorly received by critics. ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
''s Jay Weissberg criticized the director
Pan Nalin Nalin Kumar Pandya, popularly known as Pan Nalin, is an Indian filmmaker, best known for directing award-winning movies like '' Samsara'' (2001), '' Valley of Flowers'' (2006), '' Angry Indian Goddesses'' (2015) and the semi-autobiographical ' ...
for "overload nghis jaunty wagon with weighty of-the-moment topics that it splinters into dozens of pieces". Justin Lowe of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' was of the same view, he wrote that "
he film's He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
emphasis on the women's reactions to a variety of discriminatory situations starts to resemble a checklist approach, ticking off situations that cover career challenges, marriage dilemmas and personal relationships". However, Linda Barnard of the ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...
'' who gave the film a score 2.5 out of 4 stars, called the actresses "Goddesses" who are "crowd pleasers". Also enjoying the film was Kate Taylor of ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'' who didn't hesitate to write "It works, partly because the Indian cinema, accustomed to epics encompassing musical, comedy and tragedy, has a sprawling sensibility and partly because the script, for all its sunshine and sentiment, has actually built to its startling conclusion".


References


External links

* * {{Inside Out Audience Award, Feature 2010s Hindi-language films 2010s Indian films 2010s female buddy films 2015 comedy-drama films 2015 films 2015 LGBTQ-related films Indian female buddy films Indian feminist films Films about rape in India Films about women in India Films set in Goa Indian buddy comedy-drama films Indian LGBTQ-related films LGBTQ-related comedy-drama films Films about same-sex marriage Hindi-language drama films Films directed by Pan Nalin