I decided to watch this movie after seeing the promotional image and thinking, skeptically, "A Disney movie with an Indian main character? I wonder what this is all about?!" It turned out to be a sweet, wholesome, and entertaining movie with a charming main character (played wonderfully by Avantika) that shockingly did not lean on Indian stereotypes!
I was pleasantly surprised to see positive depictions of a Hindu family practicing their religious customs (they even had characters praying and reciting the Gayantri mantra!! On Disney!!) and the high school fully embracing the celebration of Holi - the festival celebrating spring and life - with the kids happily pelting each other with colored dyes!
Also it was so refreshing to see a movie about highs chool students where there was no sex, cursing, and bullying and where the core friends- Rhea, Molly, and Watson - were good students who weren't stigmatized for their interest in coding.
I loved Rhea's interactions with her family, particularly her close relationship with her grandmother and father, and her good-natured bickering with her little brother. There was a clear sense of love and respect. Family is extremely important to Indians and I like seeing this shown in a respectful way.
This being an Indian movie, I was delighted to see a familiar wardrobe - brightly colored sarees and kurtas. I could almost smell the spicy aromas of the various dishes being prepared and served. I also smiled at the obligatory dance scenes and Bollywood music (I would love to dine at an Indian restaurant where once a week the grandmother breaks out into a full Bollywood karaoke performance and dance!!) I wonder what non-Indians thought of this.
Though a bit predictable, I enjoyed the friendship and eventual rivalry between Rhea and transfer student, Max. Without spoiling anything I like the way it resolved.
The one problem I had was that for a movie about an aspiring DJ, the music Rhea and Max were spinning--- with the exception of the two songs at the end---was puzzlingly inaudible, either because it was playing so softly or only being played to the main characters through their headphones. How is the audience supposed to relate to a couple of teens bopping their heads and dancing to supposedly awesome music that we can't even hear?! That being said, "Feeling Good" was pretty good but it was nothing compared to the showstopper--"It's All Music". I'm definitely going to check out the soundtrack.
I'm so happy to see content like this on a major American network that is visible to so many impressionable kids, teens, and families. It was a wholesome movie you could watch with the entire family without diluting the very things that make the movie unique: the Indian culture. I don't know how the ratings were, but I would be into a sequel.
