Netflix has revealed the first look at Best of the Best, an upcoming movie taking audiences inside the world of collegiate Bollywood fusion dance competitions in the United States.
The film stars Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia, with the story co-written by Hasan Minhaj.
Best of the Best follows two childhood best friends who join UCLA’s Bollywood fusion dance team and begin their journey toward competing for a U.S. championship.
But judging by the newly released images, there is a lot more to the story than just the competition.
The movie will also explore friendship, romance, college drama and the South Asian community on American college campuses. Think Step Up meets Pitch Perfect, but with a distinctly South Asian spin.
The first-look photos already offer plenty of glimpses into that world.
Several images tease the movie’s dance sequences, which appear to combine elements of Indian classical dance with contemporary movement. Ghungroos can be spotted around the dancers’ ankles, while other photos feature colorful South Asian fashion, including lehengas and elaborate hair accessories.
There is also a fun detail that might immediately look familiar to anyone who participated in South Asian student organizations in college: SASA, or the South Asian Student Association, can be seen written in the background of one image.
And anyone familiar with the collegiate Bollywood dance circuit will probably recognize another scene: the team rehearsing together.
Those practices can mean long nights, full weekends and plenty of work as teams prepare increasingly elaborate routines for competitions, something Best of the Best appears ready to bring to the screen.
Minhaj is not only involved behind the scenes as a co-writer and co-producer; the first-look images also show him appearing in the movie. Based on the photos, it looks like he may be playing one of the professors.
For South Asian Americans who participated in Bollywood fusion teams, cultural organizations or other Desi groups during college, Best of the Best could deliver a particularly nostalgic form of representation. Instead of simply placing South Asian characters in a college setting, the film appears to be diving directly into a very specific part of the South Asian American campus experience.
And yes, there should be plenty of dancing along the way.
Best of the Best is set to premiere September 18, 2026, on Netflix.
