Waack
Girls,
that
captures
the
moods
of
Kolkata
beautifully,
follows
an
oft-used
template.
So
there’s
not
much
novelty
to
look
for
in
the
plot,
but
the
actors
are
excellent,
applauds
Deepa
Gahlot.
After
Yeh
Ballet,
the
unusual
story
of
two
underprivileged
Mumbai
teens
pursuing
ballet,
a
dance
form
alien
to
their
lives,
Sooni
Taraporevala
returns
to
direct
another
film,
Waack
Girls,
with
dance
as
its
backdrop.
This
time,
it’s
waacking,
which
is
mostly
unheard
of
in
India.
The
explanation
is
provided
by
the
lead,
Ishani
(Mekhola
Bose).
The
dance
called
waacking
of
punking
emerged
from
the
gay
clubs
in
Los
Angeles
in
the
1970s.
Ishani
discovers
videos,
and
teaches
herself
the
dance
that
incorporates
elements
of
jazz,
gymnastics
and
fashion.
It
took
many
decades
for
waacking
to
come
out
of
the
underground
to
the
mainstream,
even
in
the
West.
Ishani
lives
in
a
decrepit
Kolkata
mansion
with
her
sinking-into-dementia
grandfather
Subroto
Mitra
(Barun
Chanda),
a
former
theatre
star,
and
struggles
to
pay
for
its
upkeep
and
their
day-to-day
needs.
She
goes
to
college
and
has
a
part-time
job
in
a
boutique.
Encouraged
by
a
neighbour
and
friend,
Manik
(Achintya
Bose),
she
takes
part
in
a
talent
contest
and
is
practically
booed
off
stage.
The
only
one
stunned
by
her
performance
is
Lopa
(Rytasha
Rathore),
who
says
she
always
had
a
dream
of
managing
an
indie
group.
This
makes
one
suspect
Iyanah
Batiwala’s
script
(with
Taraporevala
and
Ronny
Sen)
was
transplanted
from
America
to
India
—
which
Indian
kid
grows
up
dreaming
to
be
a
talent
manager?
Also,
the
rudeness
of
some
of
the
other
girls
who
join
up
later,
towards
their
parents,
is
not
all
that
common
here.
Hounded
by
Lopa,
Ishani
agrees
to
form
a
Waack
Dance
group
and
they
audition
dancers
to
join
up.
After
the
usual
round
of
funny
dances,
they
pick
some.
When
the
girls
find
that
there
is
no
money
coming
in
right
away,
and
Lopa’s
lofty
pronouncements
of
future
fame
are
premature,
most
of
them
walk
out.
Lopa
comes
from
a
rich
family,
but
has
been
cut
off
financially
by
her
builder
father
(Nitesh
Pandey)
because
she
is
gay.
The
girls
who
remain
include
LP
(Anusua
Chowdhury),
an
aspiring
fashion
designer,
who
refuses
help
from
her
royal
family;
Tess
(Chrisann
Pereira)
dealing
with
a
gambling
addicted
mother
(Lillete
Dubey),
Anumita
(Ruby
Sah),
a
gymnast-in-training,
whose
working
class
parents
have
pinned
their
hopes
on
her
and
Michke
(Priyam
Saha),
the
fat
girl
stereotype,
always
piling
her
plate,
not
expected
from
Taraporevala.
Predictably,
the
girls
bicker
and
have
different
levels
of
commitment.
They
are
brought
together
by
an
incident
at
a
wedding,
when
their
waacking
dance
moves
—
windmilling
the
arms
over
the
head
and
posing
—
are
not
appreciated
by
the
guests.
It
ends
in
a
brawl
and
social
media
notoriety
in
the
many
family
WhatsApp
groups.
Then,
the
never-say-die
Lopa
decides
they
must
shoot
a
music
video
and
make
it
viral,
which
comes
with
its
own
set
of
problems.
When
there
is
a
big
mansion
and
greedy
uncles,
inevitably,
there
are
attempts,
instigated
by
Lopa’s
father,
to
evict
Ishani
and
her
Dadu
from
their
home.
(Why
are
the
sons
of
a
Shakespearean
actor
unable
to
speak
proper
English?)
The
series,
that
captures
the
moods
of
Kolkata
beautifully
(shot
by
Igor
Kropotov),
follows
an
oft-used
template.
So
there’s
not
much
novelty
to
look
for
in
the
plot,
but
the
actors
are
excellent.
The
young
women
are
energetic
in
their
dancing
and
bring
out
the
emotional
turmoil
each
character
is
going
through.
The
seniors,
Barun
Chanda
and
Lillete
Dubey,
are
marvellous.
When
they
reminisce
about
the
good
old
days,
the
viewer
can
feel
the
change
in
the
world
outside,
that
has
left
them
behind.
There
is
an
element
of
cultural
appropriation
here
but
then
more
widely
popular
forms
like
hip
hop
and
break
dancing
have
reached
out
to
other
countries.
Waack
Girls
could
have
been
set
in
any
city
but
perhaps
Kolkata
was
picked
because
of
the
different
visual
quality
it
offers
and
it
is
also
more
conservative
than,
say,
Mumbai.
Waack
Girls
streams
on
Amazon
Prime
Video.
Waack
Girls
Review
Rediff
Rating:
