Start the week with a film: In winning comedy ‘Best of the Best’, friendship needs delicate footwork

Childhood friends on a journey of self-discovery participate in a dance competition that causes a rift between them – it sounds like a Bollywood film. But it isn’t.

Best of the Best has a tonne of Indian-origin talent, from the director to the writers and the cast, and a soundtrack that includes musical hits from the country of origin. But the Netflix film is also an entirely American production in its look and spirit, which celebrates connections to the mother ship while also affirming strong moorings in the chosen port of call.

Directed by Lena Khan, and written by Prashanth Venkataramanujam and Hasan Minhaj, the comedy is led by Never Have I Ever star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia. Ramakrishnan is Maya: smart, individualistic and too blunt for her own good. Kedia is Anjali: academically weaker and a validation seeker but popular in a way Maya isn’t.

Both are adept dancers, especially when paired together. When they enrol in the University of California, Los Angeles, and then join a fusion dance group called Agni, they are on equal footing – for a while. Led by Ronak (Ankur Rathee) and steered by the hyper-competitive Dimple (Becky Alex) and Deepica (Shreya Navile), Agni hopes to win the inter-collegiate Best of the...

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