Best of the Best Centers Female Friendship Through Dance
While Best of the Best hits all of the marks that it should for a dance-centered film, it still leaves more to be desired.
It’s refreshing that the film chooses to focus on the longtime friendship between Maya and Anj. Most coming-of-age movies opt to center romance as the driving force of the narrative. Best of the Best proves that friendships can also reveal a lot about a character’s identity and insecurities.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan excels in her role as Maya. She brings the character to life through a blend of quick-witted humor, bluntness, and vulnerability.
Maya is unafraid to voice her opinions. She makes a valid argument about urging her fellow dance team to have a routine that is singular in its thematic expression. She wants to push the boundaries of what it means to be a Bollywood dance team.
It’s unfortunate that Maya is initially punished and ridiculed for suggesting such a thing. Many of her team members seemingly twist her words and are closed off to trying something new. Though by the film’s end, the team does come around to a more nuanced and unique dance routine.
Best of the Best makes it a point to depict Maya as relatable. The film constantly looks inward on her character. It wants us to recognize her struggles with self-worth and the pressure of feeling good enough.
While these are all good pillars of character development, Best of the Best opts to tell us such qualities rather than show them.
This causes Maya to feel a little lackluster as a character. The film only scratches the surface of what could’ve been a deeper exploration into why her insecurities affect her the way they do.
A pivotal fight scene between Maya and Anj alludes to Maya’s long-standing struggle of living in Anj’s shadow. The camera effortlessly follows the two down a long hallway, which elicits the authenticity and lived-in feeling of their argument.
Their fight makes me wish we got a better insight into Anj’s character. While it’s apparent she has familial problems and struggles with school, that’s pretty much all we’re given.
It would have been nice to understand Anj more as an individual character. Instead, her qualities throughout the film become a reflection of Maya’s character journey.
Best of the Best’s dance numbers are fun, glamorous, and spaced out well within the narrative. It’s apparent the routines were well thought out. Arguably, the best one was sparked out of spontaneity between Maya and Anj at a party.
The film depicts dance as an outlet for creative expression and a love language for Maya and Anj. Since childhood, the two were inseparable and dance almost served as their secret language. It’s a beautiful way to highlight their bond and demonstrate some of the growth they’ve experienced both together and individually.
It’s only when Anj is looking back on their videos from childhood that she realizes where Maya’s struggles stem from. In doing so, this also reveals Anj’s own flaws and adds a level of much-needed depth to her character.
What did you think of Best of the Best? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!
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Best of the Best is now streaming on Netflix.
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Revati Gelda
Revati Gelda is a writer and journalist whose work focuses on the arts and their importance in today’s society. Her reporting has appeared in Hudson Valley Magazine, her alma mater’s newspaper Pipe Dream, where she served as Arts & Culture Editor, and more. Currently, she is an Assistant Poetry Editor for Decolonial Passage, a literary magazine.