Anita and Me

Meena Kumar, a 12-year-old Sikh girl, lives with her family in the predominantly white, working-class, fictional mining village of Tollington in the Black Country in 1972. Meena meets Anita, a white, 14-year-old girl whom Meena comes to idolise. However, Meena finds it harder and harder to fit in as her Indian heritage keeps on resurfacing, and Anitas new boyfriend proves to hold strong racist attitudes toward those he regards as darkies.Anita and Me has received mixed critical reviews. Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian commented that There are zany vignets and comedy Indian relations galore, but the whole thing is very cardboard and stereotypical.

Louise Keller from Urban CineFile Australia describes the film as a sweet chapter in the life of a young girl battling to identify with her roots and environment. David Edwards calls Anita and Me a well-meaning but uneven film. Vince Leo from Quipster has described the film as a perfect example of a coming-of-age film. Rich Cline of Shadow on the Wall describes the film as being enjoyable and funny, but theres not that much to it.