Tamil film ‘Bad Girl’ wins NETPAC Award at International Film Festival of Rotterdam

A still from ‘Bad Girl’
| Photo Credit: @IFFR/X

Bad Girl, the debut feature film by director Varsha Bharath, has won the NETPAC Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2025. The Tamil coming-of-age drama is presented by ace filmmakers Anurag Kashyap and Vetri Maaran.

The NETPAC Award (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) is given annually to a standout feature film from the Asia and Pacific regions. It specifically recognises emerging talents, considering only the first and second features of directors. 

Starring Anjali Sivaraman in the lead, the cast of the film also features Shanthi Priya, Saranya Ravichandran, Hridhu Haroon, TeeJay Arunasalam, Sashank Bommireddipalli.

Interestingly, the film’s teaser, which was released last month, received polarising opinions from netizens. On one hand, some, like filmmaker Pa Ranjith, lauded the makers for the portrayal of women’s struggles in a misogynistic society. However, the teaser didn’t bode well with some sections of the audience, especially for writing the protagonist as a girl from a Brahmin household.

This project marks the Tamil debut of National Award-winning music director Amit Trivedi, who has composed six songs for the movie. The film has cinematography by Preetha Jayaraman, Jagadeesh Ravi, and Prince Anderson, and editing by Radha Sridhar.

Vetri also produces Bad Girl under his Grass Root Film Company banner.