‘Don’t Be Shy!’ review: Coming of age film mistakes Instagram philosophy for insight
· Scroll
Visit biznow.biz for more information.
Prime Video’s new Hindi original film centres on Shyamili ‘Shy’ Das (Aarushi Bajaj), a college student who has her entire life mapped out. Shy has absorbed the rules of The Perfect Woman, a book that promises to show women how to get life right.
Plan A revolves around Shy’s future with boyfriend Mayank (Piyush Khati), the heir to a business empire, and an imagined version of herself that bears little resemblance to her actual existence. Shy has no Plan B.
Directed by Sreeti Mukerji and written by her and Sunayana Kumari, the coming of age drama follows Shy as she pursues a version of perfection that is largely performative. Shy is convinced that if she follows her plan closely enough, everything will fall into place, despite assurances that she is fine the way she is from her mother (Anju Alva Naik) and the guidance counsellor (Kunal Roy Kapur),
The opening sequence is particularly cliched. Shy wakes from a dream and is thrust back into her chaotic, middle class reality.
Her father (Anurag Basu) runs a sari shop that is in debt. Women exercise and practise self-defence; a neighbour arrives with samosas; another limps past on crutches. In the middle of it all, Shy, dressed in a trench coat, retro sunglasses and...