Archive · 21 Sep 2026
Netflix’s Best of the Best Blends Friendship, Dance, and Identity
Best of the Best is a comedy about two longtime friends named Maya and Anjali.
They are talented dancers who attend UCLA together.
They join a group called Agni that wants to win a big Bollywood fusion dance contest.
Maya and Anjali begin competing to lead the group.
This competition creates problems in their friendship.
The movie uses music from India along with American songs.
It shows characters who are comfortable with both their Indian background and American lives.
The review praises the young actors and the film’s joyful energy.
However, it says some dance scenes are filmed and edited too quickly.
Lena Khan’s Netflix comedy follows childhood friends Maya and Anjali as they join UCLA’s Agni dance group.
The friends’ relationship fractures when both compete for leadership of Agni and pursue different romantic interests.
The film combines Indian-origin talent, Bollywood music, and South Asian themes with an American setting and sensibility.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia are praised for their chemistry, performances, and dance skills.
The review applauds the film’s energy and cultural confidence but criticizes rushed choreography and filming of the dance sequences.
- Who
- Childhood friends Maya and Anjali, played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia, along with the Agni dance group.
- What
- A Netflix comedy about friendship, competition, identity, and a Bollywood fusion dance contest.
- When
- The film is identified as a 2026 release.
- Where
- The story is set largely at the University of California, Los Angeles, while the film is an American production.
- Why
- Maya and Anjali join Agni to compete in the Best of the Best contest, but their rivalry strains their friendship.
Praise
Criticism
Cultural perspective
Praise
The film celebrates Indian-origin talent and music while presenting its characters as fully part of American society without relying on familiar immigrant stereotypes.
Criticism
The review suggests that Bollywood-related elements are present but not always central, and that the film’s cultural references are secondary to its American setting and story.
Dance sequences
Praise
The cast delivers energetic performances, and Ramakrishnan and Kedia are praised for their chemistry and convincing footwork.
Criticism
The choreography and filming receive criticism because the routines begin to blend together, while the climactic performance feels rushed.
Romance and story focus
Praise
The film’s strongest material is described as its exploration of friendship, solidarity, and self-discovery.
Criticism
The Bollywood-style romantic subplot is called clichéd compared with the film’s fresher ideas about friendship and cultural identity.
- Film
- Best of the Best
- Director
- Lena Khan
- Writers
- Prashanth Venkataramanujam and Hasan Minhaj
- Lead actors
- Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia
- Dance group
- Agni
- Competition
- Inter-collegiate Best of the Best Bollywood fusion contest
- Platform
- Netflix