By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
“Best of the Best,” a new Netflix movie, is a rare opportunity to find a nearly-all South Asian cast in a film set in the United States. Written and produced in part by Hasan Minhaj, who also stars in the film, “Best of the Best” follows the trials and tribulations of two best friends as they transition from the world of high school to the world of college. Bollywood meets teen angst.
Hasan Minhaj as Hamza in Best of the Best. (Credit: Emily V. Aragones/Netflix © 2026)
Some faces, like Minhaj, you will recognize. Others will be new. Altogether, “Best of the Best” is a smorgasbord of South Asian actors from at least two generations (if we include the girls’ parents, which we should because they are funny). Maitreyi Ramakrishnan plays Maya. Ramakrishnan is a Canadian who did quite a bit of voice acting, such as in “Turning Red,” before crossing over into both supporting and lead roles, most prominently as “Devi” in “Never Have I Ever.” Maya is one half of the daring duo who will “take over” the college Bollywood dance scene, according to the movie’s tagline. The other half, Anjali, is played by Priyanka Kedia, who is known for starring in “Disclosure Day.” Both actors are in their early to mid 20’s, not quite the age of kids just getting out of high school, but they pull it off very well. Close enough.
Priyanka Kedia as Anjali (leftt) and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Maya (Credit: Emily V. Aragones/Netflix © 2026)
The two childhood friends are inseparable in high school, yet college throws them some curveballs. No friendship, even a best friendship, is without conflict, which they will quickly learn as they compete, subconsciously or consciously, for the leading part on their dance team. There’s more to it than that, of course. Maya has long been the “smart” and “rebellious” one—though to many viewers, she will not seem a very over-the-top rebel at all. She is in fact a great friend who for some time sacrifices her own ego to help Anjali rise to the top. Anjali is the one who is “lucky” to have gotten into college at all, according to their parents, and who might seem superficial in comparison to Maya, as she fairly quickly absorbs into the party and shopping life.
The movie is heavily self-aware about being Asian, and yet it doesn’t come across as too much. Instead, it presents as very realistic when stereotypes are mentioned or observations made. These are, after all, college students who, as a rule, are hyper-aware and primed for social and political activism. The girls notice immediately upon walking onto the UCLA campus that there are, in fact, a lot of Asians (in other words, they are looking out for this). Although it is not said, this implies they will have a higher comfort level here than somewhere else with fewer students of their background. The college also has a Bollywood dance team. If you didn’t know (I didn’t), there are currently around 150 colleges in the U.S. who have dance teams that showcase South Asian dance styles, under a network called Desi Dance. Yep, it exists and it’s blossoming.
Maya and Anjali love dancing. You might say it defines them. You might say they are obsessed to the point of dancing interfering in every other sphere of their lives. You might also say it’s totally worth it. Who doesn’t love the energy and flair of South Asian dance? The dazzling costumes? The gorgeous choreography and romantic storytelling? The girls join a team led by the college’s South Asian heartthrob, Ronak (Ankur Rathee). Rathee has legit Bollywood dance cred in real life. In the movie, he’s kind of a butthead, but as tends to happen, everyone overlooks this because he is gorgeous and a talented dancer. Ronak and his leadership team decide that Anjali has the more “traditional” good looks—a slam in the face for Maya, who is treated as, and thus sort of morphs into, a punk, in everyone’s eyes. Put into constant close contact with Ronak, Anjali is caught up in a fantasy that might not be what she thought. Meanwhile, Maya is hanging out with Arjun (Chaneil Kular), the guy they’ve known forever that their parents want them to hang out with, and who—lucky for Maya—turns out to be cool.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (left) as Maya and Priyanka Kedia as Anjali. (Credit: Emily V. Aragones/Netflix © 2026)
It wouldn’t be a dance movie of any kind without a dance team rivalry. Ronak’s ex-girlfriend heads a team from another college that is their main competition. Both teams show up to everything, including entirely white fraternity parties where the host spews racist comments about how he’d better get what he paid for in terms of Bollywood entertainment. Nor would it be a comedy without mishaps on stage, such as when Maya tries a little too hard to break out of the box of what she considers tired dance routines, and ruins a few with her efforts. The team must pick a theme for the year, and they pick an Indian-themed wedding. That’s been done way too many times, thinks Maya. It’s important to note though, that this dancing is not just Bollywood style—there is a large component of hip hop in every dance number. I can’t change reality, yet I wished they would have occasionally combined with other styles as well.
Romantic dance routine with Anjali (Priyanka Kedia) as the “bride” and Ronak (Ankur Rathee) as the “groom.” (Credit: Emily V. Aragones/Netflix © 2026)
“Best of the Best” is directed by the Emmy-nominated Lena Khan. Khan hit the world stage with her first feature film, “The Tiger Hunter.” Minhaj plays a teacher. I think he’s head of the South Asian Club or somesuch; otherwise, his presence was a bit random, to be honest, and yet it would make sense that there would be South Asian faculty taking an interest in the students. The most pleasing aspect of the movie, in my opinion, is the developing friendship between Maya and Arjun. Maybe it’s just that they are the most down-to-earth. The film is labeled as coming-of-age and we do witness the two friends’ personality differences taking hold more than what they thought they had in common before college. They are growing up, expanding and contracting. Long-standing problems they might have brushed over are now out in the open. Will their friendship survive? Will they take the dance world by storm together or separately? I think these two best friends have a strong foundation, personally and culturally. They’ll be okay.
Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.
Leave a Reply