The Girlfriend

Bhooma is pursuing her Masters in literature at a college and staying in the hostel. A simple girl with solid values, Bhooma is lured — partly by circumstances, partly by other factors which are beyond her control (or not) — into a relationship with college jock Vikram. As the days go by, Bhooma — though doted on by Vikram on the surface (‘on the surface’ being the operative words here) — finds herself trapped in an increasingly toxic relationship that she sees no escape from. Till one day, driven against the wall (or, rather, door) she decides that enough is enough.

In Indian society, we have grown up listening to theories that hail women for their strength. If biology makes men physically stronger, what’s the other kind of strength they are referring to? And when do we stop comparing them to Goddess Durga to let them be? In Rahul Ravindran’s Telugu-language film The Girlfriend, we meet a woman who stands as an antithesis to the prototypical heroine of popular Telugu blockbusters.

Seeing Rashmika Mandanna in the Telugu film The Girlfriend draws a mix of both pleasure and disconcertment. For the first half-hour or so, her Bhooma Devi seems eerily reminiscent of Animal’s Geetanjali, for she finds herself in a relationship so quickly that it doesn’t even dawn on her whether she wanted it or not. Does Mandanna realise the parallels drawn, one wonders. The Girlfriend, though, is in no mood to show Bhooma and Geetanjali as soul sisters. Not what Bhooma endures but what she realises—a tad slowly—is where The Girlfriend becomes the relationship horror that will leave audiences, especially women, uncomfortable with the warped notion of romance.

Patriarchy has long served as a veil, obscuring women’s path to greatness. When Rashmika Mandanna’s Bhooma finally sheds her dupatta in ‘The Girlfriend,’ it’s more than fabric falling – it’s two decades of patriarchal conditioning unravelling. This deliberate act of stripping away the cloth – a constant element of her attire throughout the film – is a profound declaration of reclaiming her freedom and her rejection of the chains that once held her captive.

Certain phrases are difficult to showcase visually. I can immediately think of two — ‘When the walls are closing in’ and ‘Iron grip’. But after watching Rahul Ravindran’s searing, slow-burn The Girlfriend, I know it is possible. Rahul effortlessly manages to do that with the help of his tech team and fabulous lead actors — look out for the one where Bhooma (chef’s kiss for Rashmika Mandanna) feels suffocated and rushes into a room, turns the tap on, and panics when she literally feels a square room turn into a narrow rectangle; and all the scenes where Vikram (an excellent Dheekshith Shetty makes you loathe him with every fibre) throws his arm around Bhooma and pulls her in.

The Girlfriend is a film for the ages. Had it been made a decade or two ago, it would have felt just as relevant, and if revisited decades later, it would still hold true. Its layered exploration of men, women, and the childhood experiences that shape their adult relationships is timeless. Writer and director Rahul Ravindran crafts a slow-burn drama that cuts close to the bone — close enough to make us pause and reflect on our emotional maturity and approach to love.