‘Bad Girl’ wins NETPAC Award at Rotterdam International Film Festival

Chennai, Feb 8: Director Varsha Bharath’s upcoming Tamil film ‘Bad Girl’, the teaser of which stirred up a hornet’s nest with one section of the film fraternity calling the film “bold and refreshing” and another section taking offence to the manner in which a Brahmin girl had been portrayed in it, has now won the NETPAC Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival (IFFR) 2025.

The NETPAC award is presented on an annual basis to a feature film from the Asia and Pacific region. The film is chosen by a jury from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema. NETPAC’s mission, the festival organisers claimed, was to highlight new talents. The film selected for this award must be from one of 71 eligible countries in Asia or the Pacific Nations and Islands to be considered.

It may be recalled that the teaser of the film, which was released a few days ago, triggered a controversy. Director Pa Ranjith tweeted on his X timeline, praising the film. He wrote, “Happened to watch #BadGirl, and it’s truly a bold and refreshing film! Director #VetriMaaran deserves immense credit for backing such a daring story. The film powerfully portrays women’s struggles and society’s expectations through a unique new wave cinema style. Congratulations #varsha. Anjali Sivaraman delivers an amazing performance don’t miss this one!”

However, soon after Pa Ranjith put out this tweet, director Mohan G Kshatriyan responded to it. Quoting Pa Ranjith’s tweet, he wrote, “Portraying a Brahmin girl(‘s) personal life is always a bold and refreshing film for this clan. What more can be expected from Vetrimaran, Anurag Kasyap & Co.. Bashing Brahmin father and mother is old and not trendy. Try with your own caste girls and showcase it to your own family first.”

This soon snowballed into a major controversy, with one section criticising the teaser and the film and another section supporting it. The film, which has been directed by Varsha Bharath, features Anjali Sivaraman, Shanthi Priya, Saranya Ravichandran, Hridhu Haroon, TeeJay Arunasalam and Sashank Bommireddipalli among others.

Cinematography for the film is by Preetha Jayaraman (ISC), Jagadeesh Ravi, Prince Anderson, music is by Amit Trivedi and editing for the film is by Radha Sridhar. The film, which has been produced by ace director Vetrimaran, is presented by Vetrimaran in association with Anurag Kashyap.