When a movie comes out on Netflix, there is an underlying belief that it will be of a certain quality. With that pre-conceived notion in mind, I sat down to watch Miss India, a new film that seemed to be trending on the #1 spot. 

The film began as the story of a young girl who is fearless and ambitious. It gave me an 80s movie vibe with 2020 packaging, but I labored on because of the Netflix stamp. What is the 80s movie vibe, you ask? 

Well...within 15 minutes, her father was terminally ill, her sister was disowned, her grandfather died, she grew up, moved to the US and was almost done with her MBA! (I know you might think these are spoilers, but truly...the real story hasn't even begun). 

Of course, there are glaring plot holes in the film. Not the least of which is - how did she get a transfer from an MBA program in India to one in the US?

The story continues with its downhill trajectory. We see Manasa Samyukhta (Keerty Suresh), a brilliant young girl, trying to make it as an entrepreneur in the big, bad corporate world. While each obstacle seems fairly real, the ways in which Samyukhta gets out of them are contrived. Entrepreneurship is such a fascinating journey in itself. The filmmakers hardly needed to rely on cheap drama and unlikely plot progressions to make it interesting. 

The soundtrack of the film is also over-the-top. Every scene and dialogue is punctuated by loud instrumental music that can only be described as overkill.  There is no build-up of secondary characters or intricate plot lines. The revelations are not revealed, simply stated. Everything happens suddenly and the audience is just supposed to accept that that is what happened and move on. 

In fact, even the ending of the film came suddenly. Our main character had just understood that business is war. Except she doesn't really go to war and the movie finishes. I had to rewind a few minutes to make sure that I didn't miss something in the story when the end credits started rolling up on me. 

However, all is not lost in this film. The main lead, Keerty Suresh is able to take an incredulous tale and inject life into it. Her portrayal of Samyukhta as a woman who wants to succeed with hardwork and dedication is brilliant. Even though I found everything in the movie to be cheesy, I couldn't help root for her to succeed. Audiences always love an underdog and Suresh creates one that is endearing. 

Keeping with that theme, the film is also able to get its gender politics on the right track. Samyukhta is courted by all the men she comes across in the corporate world. They all believe that women are worthy of taking care of the house and children, but not running a business. She's not having any of it. She does not allow anyone to talk down to her. She rejects all the proposals she gets from men, even those who are nice to her, because she doesn't have time for them. In what is almost revolutionary for an Indian film, she ends up flying solo at the end of the movie. Her relationship status isn't shown with a hint of sadness or even focused on at all. The aim of the movie is to establish an ambitious, career-minded woman and her success is the note the movie ends on. I think.

My recommendation for this film - Skip it! 

But if you do end up watching, Keerty Suresh is the saving grace. Keep your eyes on her to make it a less painful 2.5 hours. 

Rating 1/5