The Girlfriend, starring Rashmika Mandanna and Dheekshith Shetty and directed by Rahul Ravindran, is generating positive early buzz. Audiences praise Rashmika's compelling performance, the chemistry with Dheekshith, and an emotional climax described as goose-bumps at the interval, tears at the end. While the narrative has been compared to Arjun Reddy, the team emphasises its own identity.