Netflix’s Best of the Best puts competitive college Bollywood dance teams on the big screen, and the film leans on its own history to make it work. Written by Hasan Minhaj and Prashanth Venkataramanujam, both drawing on their own experiences, the movie is directed by Lena Khan. It is one of the first films to seriously depict the Indian-American and diasporic experience.
The film follows Maya (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and Anjali (Priyanka Kedia), who have been best friends and dancers since childhood. Their senior year dance performance went viral after a mishap, and Maya wants nothing to do with dance when they arrive at UCLA together. But the world of collegiate Bollywood competition proves too shiny to resist, testing both their friendship and their own limits.
The Friendship at the Center
Maya and Anjali are the engine of Best of the Best. Ramakrishnan plays Maya, and the review notes that her version of the character is not too far from what fans might imagine Devi to be in college. That connection to Never Have I Ever is part of why the film lands with viewers familiar with her earlier work.
But the real breakout performance belongs to Priyanka Kedia as Anjali. Her role is not flashy, but it holds the emotional center of the film. Kedia’s lead energy keeps the story grounded, mirroring the steady presence her character brings to the friendship. The film leans on their chemistry to carry its coming-of-age stakes.
What Else the Film Brings In
The film draws comparisons to Booksmart and Bring It On, and reviewers add Step Up to the mix. Those three references cover comedy, competition, and dance, which fits a movie about young women navigating fame, friendship, and cultural identity through dance.
For viewers outside the Indian-American experience, the film serves as a primer on what Desi friends were probably doing after classes in college. The movie captures the full picture of the college Bollywood dance circuit, complete with the well-drawn female friendship that anchors the story.
Representation on Screen
The review notes that Best of the Best is not meant to represent the entire South Asian community, and some jokes miss their mark. The poorly executed ones about the complicated Hindu-Muslim dynamics within the larger South Asian context are singled out as falling flat. But there is plenty to celebrate in the representation on screen.
The film includes South Indian kuthu style dance alongside hip-hop and classical Bharatnatyam. It also features evolved cross-generational female characters that inhabit the story. These elements combine to make the world feel specific and lived-in, which is the film’s secret weapon.
Our Take on the Film
Best of the Best is a joyous coming-of-age film, a celebration of sisterhood, and an accurate depiction of the Indian-American college experience. It is a movie that feels both too niche to expect on screen and far too interesting to pass by.
The specificity of its world is what makes it appealing. Anyone who presses play gets access to a world that has rarely been shown before. The film succeeds because it does not try to be everything — it simply shows what it knows, and what it knows is rich.
Why We Call It Worth Watching
“Best of the Best is a joyous coming-of-age film, a celebration of sisterhood, and an accurate depiction of the Indian-American college experience.”
That line sums up the whole project. The film is a love letter to a specific subculture, and it earns that affection through its performances, its world-building, and its refusal to flatten its characters into stereotypes.
A Note on the Critic
The review comes from Radhika Menon, a film and TV writer based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared on Vulture, Teen Vogue, ELLE, and more. She is the co-host of the podcast PromRad Approved with fellow Decider contributor Proma Khosla. She writes about Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and pizza with equal warmth.
Her background in film criticism gives her a particular angle on the movie’s craft. She is attuned to the performances and the specificity of the world, which is exactly what makes Best of the Best worth watching.
What Comes Next
The film is now streaming on Netflix. It is a chance to see a corner of college life that rarely gets its own spotlight, told with warmth and specificity.
The film’s strength is in its honesty. It does not pretend to be a universal story, and it does not apologize for being specific. That honesty is what makes it work.
Here is how the film earns its place among similar titles:
- It matches Booksmart’s comedy and coming-of-age energy.
- It mirrors Bring It On’s competition and team spirit.
- It adds Step Up’s focus on dance and physical performance.
Best of the Best is a film about friendship, competition, and the messy joy of growing up in a culture that rarely gets its own story. It is worth your time if you want to see a world that feels true, even if you have never set foot on a Bollywood dance floor.
Source material: “Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Best of the Best’ on Netflix, A ‘Bring It On’ Style College Movie Set in the World of Competitive Bollywood Dance,” Decider.
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