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Maya and Anjali’s friendship faces unexpected pressure when competition exposes years of insecurity, resentment and unresolved differences between them.
The film blends South Asian identity, college life, dance competitions and family expectations into a familiar coming-of-age story.
An emotional finale brings Maya and Anjali together again while giving their friendship and personal journeys satisfying closure.
Rating: 3.5/5
‘Best of the Best’, directed by Lena Khan and written by Hasan Minhaj and Prashanth Venkataramanujam, follows childhood best friends Maya (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and Anjali (Priyanka Kedia), who arrive at UCLA hoping to leave their high-school embarrassment behind. The two join Team Agni, a competitive Bollywood-fusion dance troupe, but what begins as a chance to prove themselves soon puts their friendship under pressure.
Maya is still haunted by a high-school dance performance that went wrong and left her with the humiliating nickname ‘Drone Strike girl.’ Determined to change how people see her, she pushes Anjali to audition for Agni. The team is preparing for the national ‘Best of the Best’ collegiate dance championship, and Maya quickly becomes invested in helping them win.
Anjali, however, has her own problems. Her mother expects her to maintain strong grades, while Anjali becomes increasingly involved with the dance team and develops an interest in its captain, Ronak (Ankur Rathee).
Ramakrishnan brings plenty of energy to Maya, but the character is insecure which becomes increasingly important as the story progresses. Maya is competitive and outspoken, but much of that behavior comes from years of feeling like Anjali is the more naturally popular and accepted friend.
Kedia gives Anjali a softer performance, which works well for a character who initially appears to have an easier life. The film gradually reveals that she is also struggling with parental expectations and uncertainty about what she actually wants.
Chaneil Kular is charming as Arjun, Maya's love interest, while Rathee's Ronak is deliberately presented as the confident captain whose own ambitions sometimes get in the way of his team. Hasan Minhaj provides comic relief as Professor Latif, the faculty adviser who frequently finds himself trying to manage the students' personal and professional conflicts.
The biggest conflict between the friends begins when Maya discovers that she was originally voted to become the team's female lead, but the result is quietly changed in favor of Anjali.
Maya overhears the conversation but chooses not to confront Anjali immediately. Things get worse when Anjali's academic problems begin affecting her position on the team. Maya is asked to help with an academic assignment but fails to follow through, contributing to Anjali being placed on academic probation and forced to step away from dancing.
The situation finally explodes when Maya reveals that Anjali only got the lead as the vote was changed. Years of resentment come rushing out. Maya admits that she always felt like the friend who works harder but gets less attention, while Anjali accuses Maya of turning everything into a competition. Their friendship falls apart, and Maya also leaves Agni.
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Maya's growing obsession with proving herself affects her relationship with Arjun. A video from a party makes it appear that Maya and Ronak are becoming romantically involved, leaving Arjun hurt.
The misunderstanding is eventually cleared up, but the subplot reinforces one of the film's larger ideas: Maya spends so much time looking for validation from other people that she struggles to recognize the support that already exists.
The romance remains secondary to the friendship between Maya and Anjali, which is ultimately the emotional centre of the film.
After Maya and Anjali eventually return to the team, they are given another opportunity to perform together at nationals. Instead of the predictable wedding-themed routine Ronak initially favours, Maya develops a more ambitious concept based around the Koh-i-Noor diamond.
The routine imagines the team retrieving the diamond and ultimately destroying it so that its pieces can be shared rather than remaining a symbol of colonial possession. The idea gives the finale a distinctly South Asian cultural and political dimension without completely taking over the story.
The performance suffers an unexpected setback when the power goes out. Rather than stopping, Maya and Anjali fall back on the dance routine they performed together years earlier. It becomes a full-circle moment for Maya, who finally gets another chance to perform without allowing her previous humiliation to define her.
Agni wins the national competition, while Maya and Anjali repair their friendship. Maya also reconciles with Arjun, and Anjali's relationship with Ronak is left open-ended.
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‘Best of the Best’ follows a familiar college dance-comedy formula, but its focus on friendship, South Asian identity and the complicated pressures of growing up gives the story enough personality to stand on its own.
Ramakrishnan and Kedia are the film's biggest strengths, particularly when Maya and Anjali's friendship begins to unravel. The film is also at its best when it allows the characters to be flawed rather than turning either friend into the obvious villain.
The dance sequences are energetic, although the choreography can be uneven, and some of the conflicts resolve a little too conveniently. Still, the final performance delivers the emotional payoff the film was building towards.
It may not reinvent the genre, but ‘Best of the Best’ is a breezy, funny and culturally specific coming-of-age film that ultimately understands that the real victory is not the trophy, it is figuring out what, and who, actually matters.
1.What is ‘Best of the Best’ about?
‘Best of the Best’ follows childhood friends Maya and Anjali as their friendship faces pressure from dance competitions, personal insecurities, family expectations and changing ambitions during college.
2.Who stars in ‘Best of the Best’?
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan plays Maya, while Priyanka Kedia portrays Anjali. The cast also includes Chaneil Kular, Ankur Rathee and Hasan Minhaj in supporting roles.
3.What happens between Maya and Anjali?
Their friendship breaks down after Maya discovers that the female lead vote was changed in Anjali’s favour, bringing years of resentment and insecurity to the surface.
4.What happens in the ending of ‘Best of the Best’?
Maya and Anjali reunite for the national competition, perform together despite a power outage, and ultimately repair their friendship after their emotional dance performance.
5.Is ‘Best of the Best’ worth watching?
‘Best of the Best’ offers an energetic mix of comedy, friendship, dance and South Asian identity, supported by engaging performances from Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia.
