Plot

A photographer invites her closest friends to vacation at her family's home in Goa in celebration of her upcoming marriage.

India's FIRST female buddy movie! A power packed comic drama about Indian women finding their hearts and loosing their heads! A wild bunch of girls from all over India descent upon Goa! Their closest friend FREIDA has invited them to her family home for a surprise announcement : she's getting married! Thus begins an impromptu bachelorette. A riotous roller coaster of girl bonding: friendships, breakups, make ups, screw ups, passion, devastation, hesitation, terrorization, realization, boom- explosions! Among the fun and frenzy, heart breaks and heart aches, passion and obsession, youth and innocence, emotions run high and dry and hidden secrets surface. The girls go on living life like there is no tomorrow, oblivious of the impending doom upon them...

A group of college friends. A wedding. Countless secrets. Billed as "India's first female buddy comedy," Angry Indian Goddesses seems at first like the South Asian spin on Bridesmaids. But in the hands of award-winning filmmaker Pan Nalin (Samsara), the story takes surprising turns that upend genre expectations and explore the pressing issues of gender and sexism in contemporary Indian society. In the scenic beachside state of Goa, Frieda (Sarah Jane Dias), a strong-willed and celebrated photographer, gathers her closest friends on the eve of her nuptials. The diverse (and often hilarious) group is a snapshot of modern Indian society: Su (Sandhya Mridul), a businesswoman and mother; the engaging Nargis (Tannishtha Chatterjee, who also appears at this year's Festival in Parched); Jo (Amrit Maghera), an aspiring Bollywood actress; Pammy (Pavleen Gujral), a housewife; Mad (Anushka Manchanda), a singer-songwriter; and the house servant, Lakshmi (Rajshri Deshpande). Everything's set for a night of celebration. There's only one issue: Frieda won't say who her betrothed is. As they banter their way through a tonally varied series of scenes - some of them jubilantly comic, others loaded with pathos - the characters in Angry Indian Goddesses evolve far beyond mere tropes. Their conversation, derived entirely from improvisations among the actors, covers everything from sex to street harassment to the buff (and often shirtless) next-door neighbour. As the night goes on, we become acquainted with the women's dreams, desires, fears, and above all, their unwavering bond with one another - a bond that eventually takes them to extreme lengths. The 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder sparked discussions about women's rights in India that are still ongoing. An important new cinematic entry in the conversation, Angry Indian Goddesses is a refreshing and frank depiction of female empowerment from a key figure in independent South Asian cinema.—Cameron Bailey (Artistic Director - Toronto International Film Festival)

Freida (Sarah-Jane Dias) is a fashion photographer who invites a group of friends to her family's home to announce that she is getting married. The group consists of Madhurita or Mad (Anushka Manchanda) a Bollywood singer, Pamela Jaswal or Pammi (Pavleen Gujral) a trophy wife, Suranjana or Su (Sandhya Mridul) a businesswoman, Nargis (Tannishtha Chatterjee) an activist and Joanna or Jo (Amrit Maghera) an aspiring actress, who is Freida's cousin who is half British and half Indian. All 5 women deal with the strain of being a female in a male dominated society, who view women as sexual objects.

Jo is frustrated with her career as she is only expected to the eye candy in her roles, while it is the hero who is supposed to protect her. The director tells her that the heroine's job is to be the damsel in distress. Jo is told that she has been cast for her looks and her figure. Freida's maid Laxmi is eve teased on her way to work. She approaches the teaser seductively and ends up crushing his testicles. Pammi cannot even go to the gym without lecherous guys commenting on her figure or her looks. She lashes out by dropping dumbbells on their foot. Mad is heckled on stage to sing popular Bollywood numbers which have a double meaning. Mad removes her wig and launches into the perverts to teach them a lesson. Freida is herself sick of the impossible beauty standards that the fashion industry heaps on aspiring models. She quits the campaign. The women are forced to retaliate to get their point across.

The announcement sets off a chain of reactions, letting out hidden secrets. Freida explains that her father will not join her for the wedding, and Mad's boyfriend, who comes looking for her, explains that she is depressed and suicidal.

After the announcement, the wild bunch of girls from all over India descends upon Goa. They all stay in Freida's ancestral home, as she is originally from Goa. Su brings her daughter Maya along with her, who is very fond of taking pictures.

The friends are not happy that Freida invited Su to the festivities as she is a bit of a sour puss. But Freida defends Su and says that it was Su who introduced her to artistic photography after inviting her to a photography exhibition in Mumbai.

Thus begins an impromptu hens party, and a riotous roller-coaster ride of girl-bonding. In the middle of the fun and frenzy, the girls are oblivious of the impending doom and go on living life like there is no tomorrow.

Everything's set for a night of celebration. There's only one issue: Frieda won't say who her betrothed is. As they banter their way through celebration, their conversation, derived entirely from improvisations among the actors, covers everything from sex to street harassment to the buff (and often shirtless) next-door neighbor. It is revealed that Mads has twice attempted suicide over her failed music career, while Jo has a crush on a hunky next-door neighbor.

During the trip to the city, the women are harassed, and they react boldly. Their harassers are enraged, and they are shaken as they did not expect any resistance from a group of women. As the holiday progresses, we become acquainted with the women's dreams, desires, fears and, above all, their unwavering bond with one another -a bond that eventually takes them to extreme lengths. Later the ladies come to know that Freida is getting married to Nargis (which is illegal under the IPC section 377).

Nargis is also a social activist who has been organizing demonstrations against Su's businesses. Su hates Nargis & is doubly angry when she finds that Freida is marrying Nargis. It is revealed that Freida's maid Lakshmi was the witness to her own brother's murder from a local land developer Tony. Lakshmi is the sole witness to the murder and the case has been dragging on in court for 8 years. Lakshmi is subject to daily harassment from Tony and his goons but has not given up her fight.

A night before the marriage, the group decides to party. On the way to the party their car breaks down & the group is harassed by a group of locals and the group fights back. At the party, a heated argument between Jo and Freida. Freida is of the opinion that they should have not taken matters into their own hands and reported the matter to the police. While Jo is for fighting injustice and inequality at all levels. This leads Jo to walk out, but the party continues. When they decide to go home, they look about for Jo. She is found dead on the beach, apparently someone had forced sex with her. The doctor, who arrives in the ambulance, refuses to remove her before the police come as she is already dead.

The police officer in charge conducts his preliminary inquiries in a manner that shames the women, reiterating their lack of faith in a patriarchal society that treats women shabbily. They go home, distraught and frustrated. Su's daughter Maya had followed Jo when she left the party and clicked photos of her subsequently. The snaps reveal that the group of men who had harassed the friends earlier had forced sex with Jo.

The women take the evidence back to the police but encounter resistance once again. Su heads back to the beach with a gun. The rest of the group chases after her. Su shoots 4 of the sexual predators before Nargis stops her, Mad takes the gun and kills the other two.

At Jo's funeral, the group makes a series of sentimental speeches, Nargis' speech summarizing the worth of a woman and hopes that in the next lives of women, they will be able to write their own stories. The police officer interrupts the ceremony, asking for a confession of guilt from the women and wanting them to stand up.

The story has an open-ended conclusion, with the entire congregation in the church standing up in solidarity with the women.