Ziddi Girls is a full-blown rebellion wrapped in drama, emotion, and unrelenting grit. Directed by Shonali Bose, Neha Veena Sharma, and Vasant Nath, it seizes your attention in one stroke.
A show about young women refusing to be silenced, about the power of standing tall even when the world insists you shrink. And at the centre of it all? Atiya Tara Nayak who doesn’t just play a role—she owns it, breathing fire into every scene with an effortless, raw energy that makes you believe in every ounce of her struggle.
It all begins at Matilda House College, an elite Delhi institution where young freshers step in with dreams bigger than the campus itself. The seniors, or rather the student leaders, have a tradition—an initiation of sorts. A French film on sex-ed. Nothing scandalous, nothing provocative. Just education, framed differently. But in a world where context is a fragile thing, a fresher records the screening, the clip finds its way online, and within hours, the leaders are vilified. Accused of promoting obscenity, of corrupting minds. What starts as a misunderstanding snowballs into a full-fledged storm.
And at the eye of it? Paro, the unshaken, the fierce, the one who refuses to bow.
The series takes a sharp, gut-wrenching turn when a student, betrayed by someone she trusted, finds herself naked before a crowd. It’s horrifying, it’s unforgivable, and it’s precisely the kind of moment that rips innocence apart. But instead of dissolving into helplessness, the girls ignite. They fight back. And the world, predictably, retaliates. Their resistance is met with harassment, and their courage is met with violence. Paro, the fearless leader, gets hit—literally. A brutal blow to the head, a hospital bed, and a chorus of voices demanding justice. But justice is never that simple, is it? Not when authority prefers compliance over courage.
The new principal walks in like a storm, all control and curfews. A 7 pm lockdown for the hostel girls. No stepping out, no breathing space, no freedom. It’s almost laughable, this archaic attempt at discipline. But the girls aren’t laughing. They’re livid. And where there’s fury, there’s fire. The student leaders and freshers, bound by something fiercer than fear, refuse to be caged. They demand to be heard. They demand to be seen. And when the institution tries to suppress them, they push back harder, proving that silence is never an option.
Amid all this, the performance that lingers in your mind long after the credits roll is Atiya Tara Nayak’s. She erupts with absolute zeal! Every glance, every word, every defiant stance pulses with something electric, something too real to be scripted. She makes you root for her, makes you feel every injustice like a personal wound. It’s not just about breaking barriers; it’s about setting them on fire and watching the world wake up to the flames.
Ziddi Girls doesn’t just mirror reality—it slams it in your face.
It reminds you that even in 2025, women are still fighting for the most basic freedoms. That every Paro, every student leader, every fearless girl who dares to defy will always have the world against her. But it also tells you something else—being ‘ziddi’ isn’t a flaw; it’s a necessity. And these girls? They aren’t just characters. They’re a revolution.
IWMBuzz rates it 4 stars.
Ziddi Girls is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
