March 20, 2025 (Yes Punjab News)
Ziddi Girls, on Amazon Prime Video, is exactly what the title suggests – a group of 5 Ziddi Girls from the Matilda House in Delhi, led by their seniors, fighting for their right to freedom, speech and change.
In fact, the show actually feels a little too close to home, as it has very aptly, not only showcased that Ziddi Girls can indeed bring about a change, it also showcased a very true depiction of what student activism in Indian colleges is really like.
An unfortunate incident at the Matilda House, leads to a change of management, a management that threatens the rights and privileges of these women, and how they fight tooth and nail to not let the system rob them of it. The show highlights their passion, rebellion, and desire to challenge the system.
Take the real-life example of the Pinjra Tod movement that took place in 2015. Female students across campuses in Delhi, protested against unfair hostel curfew rules that applied only to women, just like the curfew restrictions that Matilda House’s new Principal Lata Bakshi and her 7 pm curfew for girls.
Another incident that we are reminded of, after seeing Ziddi Girls, is the 2020 Gargi College molestations and subsequent protests.
A group of intoxicated men barged into the campus of the college that was hosting a music festival on February 6, 2020 and sexually assaulted some of the college students.
After inaction from law enforcement, close to a 100 students sat down for a dharna outside the college gate for 6 days, demanding stringent action against the perpetrators, an apology from the college principal and assurance of safety for students on the campus.
Female students did not back down until their voice was heard, just like the Ziddi Girls. The show also did not miss out on focusing on the high personal price that these women, who dared to speak up for the rights of so many others, end up paying.
Director Shonali Bose, reflecting on these incidents, expresses, “Students are not just meant to study. They need to speak out on what’s happening in their colleges and in the world. If students cease to do that – exercise their right to protest and their voices for change – then the future is dark.”
Show creator Rangita Pritish Nandy added, “Very often, as film makers, we create content that lives in half truths. It’s what I call the popcornification of our times.
When you’re making a piece about young students—young women at that—coming of age in a patriarchal society, rife with misogyny, you can’t shy away and paint it all cutesy. Yes there’s friendship, and yes there’s young love, and yes there’s peer pressure, but there’s also the good fight.
It’s at that age that we discover what feels right, what is clearly wrong, what we refuse to be blind to. And it’s when we discover our voice. Ziddi Girls is that awakening, that shoutout, and it was so much fun to not make a toothless young adult show, but to deliver a blazer.”
What sets Ziddi Girls apart from other youth-based shows, is that it paints a very realistic picture of the country’s current scenario, when it comes to raising its voice against unjust practices and regressive rules.
By drawing inspiration from real-life student movements to create its story, Ziddi Girls will resonate with anyone who has experienced campus activism.
The show highlights the important role that student movements play in shaping both individual lives and the country’s political future. Made with an aim to inspire young women and shape minds, Ziddi Girls does what it set out to do, inspire and aspire, and to never give up because the society asks and expects women to!
