'Girls Will Be Girls' actor Kesav Binoy Kiran: 'Men will be men’ is used to excuse men for their deeds

Kesav Binoy Kiran in the film

One of the first things director Shuchi Talati told debutant actor Kesav Binoy Kiran about Girls Will Be Girls was that his character Srinivas is neither a good or bad guy. "There are no labels on him," says the actor.

Girls Will Be Girls explores themes of love, sexuality, and generational conflict through the journeys of the teen-aged Mira and her mother Anila, played by Preeti Panigrahi and Kani Kusruti respectively. Kiran's character serves as a catalyst for change in the protagonist's life. "I played Sri as a boy who thinks he is a man. He liked having a motherly figure like Anila because he doesn't have that in his life. The script was layered, and every character had so much depth," marvels Kiran.

For the actor, what stood out about Girls Will Be Girls - which won two awards at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival - was its depiction of male characters. He believes his character challenges the stereotypical representation of young men in pop culture. "‘Men will be men' is used to excuse men for their deeds, but this film's title turns the idea on its head. The film shows women as their own people, and it shows Sri as charming yet vulnerable. He isn't the stereotypical young man you see in pop culture. Shuchi crafted him with care, allowing me to explore what it means to be a young man navigating his own insecurities," he states.