Friday Streaming - Being shamed into losing your virginity or terrorism and xenophobia? Indoo Ki Jawani on Netflix can't decide what it's really about!

Directed by Abir Sengupta, Indoo Ki Jawani is literally turning a blind eye to making sense!

It's almost as if we're afraid of women owning their sexuality! Why else is it so hard to make a coming-to-age film solely about a woman choosing when and to who she wants to lose her virginity? Seriously, women seeking pleasure can totally be the next theme for a comedy show because that's the only lens with which it's been portrayed in mainstream cinema like in Indoo Ki Jawani!

Cast - Kiara Advani plays Indira aka Indoo Gupta, your girl next door who isn't quite sure of where she stands in the whole 'losing your virginity after you're married'. Aditya Seal plays Samar Khan, a Pakistani man looking to make a new friend in India and Mallika Dua plays Indoo's best friend, Sonal Makhija, aka Indoo's Google.

Storyline - Being afraid of her boyfriend losing interest in her if she doesn't put out, Indoo surprises her boyfriend by showing up at his place unannounced, only to find him in bed with someone else. After whining about this to her best friend, Sonal, who then tells her about 'what all men want', Indoo gets onto a dating app to lose her virginity to a one-night stand. Enter Samar, a Pakistani man who's visiting Ghaziabad to meet his grandparents. She calls him over and the two of them struggle with making the first move until she discovers that he's a Pakistani and she wonders if he's one of the two terrorists hiding in Ghaziabad!

Watch the trailer here!

What I didn't quite like - Riddled with way too many plots, neither does Indoo Ki Jawani feel like a rom-com nor does it leave a social message about judging a book by its cover. Lecherous uncles in the neighborhood who compete with each other to keep you 'safe', teenage friends of a younger sibling who spike your drink when you turn down their advances, a best friend who knows what 'men want', this tried-to-be-but-couldn't-be rom-com doesn't fail to give you sexism at its best. Everything feels out of proportion in this film - the accent, a never-ending monologue at the end on world peace, and sexual innuendos.

Also Read: While Zee5’s Love Hostel delves into India’s ridiculously bleak reality of honor killings, major chunks of the film feel underdeveloped!