Netflix’s New Dance Comedy Turns College Competition Into An All-Out Battle… Never Have I Ever Star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Leads Best Of The Best, Where Friendship, Ambition And Bollywood-Fusion Dance Collide. The film follows best friends Maya and Anjali as they join UCLA’s fiercely competitive dance team and chase a US championship, only to discover a world so intense its stars compare the drama to Dance Moms. Beneath the rivalry is a coming-of-age story about friendship, identity and the South Asian American experience.

The competition inside collegiate Bollywood-fusion dance is far more intense than it looks. In the upcoming comedy Best of the Best, best friends Maya (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and Anjali (Priyanka Kedia) quickly discover that reaching the top demands relentless training, painful sacrifices and even putting their hair on the line for the performance.

Directed by Lena Khan (Flora & Ulysses), the film follows the inseparable friends as they join UCLA’s fiercely competitive Bollywood-fusion dance team. But their dream of capturing the US championship soon pulls them into a chaotic, high-pressure world where the fight to become the best is much tougher — and wilder — than either expected.

A group of teenagers sitting on a gym floor, attentively listening, with two girls in the foreground and other students in the background in a school setting.

A woman in a white corset, jeans, and a half-worn jacket stands confidently in a dimly lit room with blue lighting, beside a glowing crystal-like object on a pedestal, suggesting a dramatic or nightclub setting.

Woman in traditional Indian attire with flowers in her hair stands beside a wooden carved screen in a dimly lit room, looking thoughtfully at the camera.

For Ramakrishnan, who came of age as teenager Devi Vishwakumar in Never Have I Ever, the film represents a graduation of sorts. Her character’s gumption and vulnerability, on display in the trailer above, immediately resonated with Ramakrishnan. Maya convinces Anjali to try out for their school’s dance team, which sends both friends on a riotous journey of self-discovery. “Maya’s full of spunk. She’s got nerve,” Ramakrishnan tells Netflix. “She’s quite combative, but I love her. She’s not just your surface-level hard-ass. She’s vulnerable, and she really just wants to be loved.”

A group of dancers in elaborate, sparkling outfits perform a dramatic scene on stage with a glittering blue curtain backdrop, evoking a festive or celebratory atmosphere.

Likewise, Kedia felt uniquely connected to the role of Anjali. “I’ve been her before, and I still am her in small ways,” she explains. “I think we’re meeting Anjali on this really beautiful journey where she’s learning who she is outside the roles she’s used to playing — whether that’s the obedient daughter or unconditional best friend.”

At its core, Best of the Best is a celebration of friendship, sisterhood, and, of course, the dynamic world of Bollywood fusion dance.

“[The movie] is a culmination of so many South Asian American kids’ experiences growing up in the United States of America,” says Hasan Minhaj, who also stars in the film and co-wrote the script with Patriot Act collaborator Prashanth Venkataramanujam. “It’s very much a coming-of-age story of the Desi diaspora experience. For both me and Prashanth, this is a culmination of a bunch of painfully true events that we got to witness firsthand.”

Man in green sweater speaks into microphone on stage, with an audience of people clapping and watching in a warmly lit, festive indoor environment with golden decorations in the background.

Two young adults stand facing each other at a bus stop, engaged in a serious conversation. There is a large bus with partial text in the background, suggesting a travel or departure scene.

Four young adults stand together outside at a social gathering, with a house and other people in the background, appearing to converse and enjoy a lively daytime event.

In addition to Ramakrishnan, Kedia, and Minhaj, the film’s ensemble includes Chaneil Kular (Sex Education), Ankur Rathee (Single Papa, Shehzada), Shreya Navile (Month of Madhu), Nico Greetham (The Prom), Lilly Singh (Bad Moms), Janina Gavankar (The Morning Show), and Kavi Ramachandran (General Hospital, The Sex Lives of College Girls).

“If you haven’t experienced intercollegiate Bollywood fusion dance, you have to imagine the most cutthroat, competitive, pressure-filled, creative cyclone of performing arts that you’ve seen — all while these folks are probably going to go to med school or engineering school,” Khan explains.

A diverse group of young adults in sporty, casual clothing stand together indoors, appearing focused and attentive, possibly listening to someone or watching an event in a well-lit urban setting.

Kedia notes about the competition, “It feels like life and death,” she says. “A lot of the fun of the story is how much this means to everyone and how seriously they take it. Things get really tense. It’s like Dance Moms drama.”

“It’s very intense,” adds Ramakrishnan. “It’s just full of passion, and I have such a deep respect for those who do it, because you have to love it in order to do it. And even if you’re not dancing, even if you’re not on the team, the energy is absolutely infectious.”

Join the Best of the Best when the film arrives Sept. 18, only on Netflix.