Sixteen-year-old Mira leads the life of a model student at a boarding school in northern India. As exams approach, her mother returns to the area to support her. But Mira’s encounter with a new student unsettles the relationship between the two women, as each is forced to confront her own desires.

As a teen intent on facing sexual awakening without turning a hair, newcomer Preeti Panigrahi shines in Shuchi Talati’s poised first feature. Drawing oiled fingers through a tight tangle of relationships, this cathartically tactile film feels for empathy amid the disheveling affronts of adolescence.