Why is that skirt so short? Why are you bending over the desk like that? Who is calling you so many times? Shuchi Talati remembers these questions being thrown at her constantly during her teenage years. Those years of being questioned and her defiance have led to her maiden feature film, Girls Will Be Girls. “I started to make this film from a place of anger and rebellion. As teenagers, [girls] are subjected to constant policing and surveillance, which instills in them a deep shame about desire or sexuality. I wanted to tell a story about a young girl’s first romance, her sexual awakening, but treat it as a normal part of growing up. I wanted to do it in a way where the storytelling doesn’t shame it at all,” starts the director.

(From left) Producer Richa Chadha with Shuchi Talati