New British south Asian film, Polite Society releases this Friday 28th April
A mash up of sisterly affection, parental disappointment and bold action, Polite Society follows martial artist-in-training Ria Khan who believes she must save her older sister Lena from her impending marriage. After enlisting the help of her friends, Ria attempts to pull off the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of independence and sisterhood. Written and directed by Nida Manzoor and staring Priya Kansara, Ritu Arya, Nimra Bucha, Akshay Khanna, Seraphina Beh, Ella Bruccoleri, the film is made with the backing of Focus Features and Universal Pictures - a massive achievement for a movie made by south Asian talent. Polite Society is a true action comedy that will make a trip to the cinema with friends or family not only well worth the trip but a reminder of the joy of seeing fun on screen in a cinema.
The cast of the film Polite Society
The positive response to the film thus far is a testament to writer and director Nida’s, vision. You can watch a short clip from her speech at the premiere in which she talks a little about her journey to making the film, below. Nida’s writing is witty and it complements the fast pace of the storyline which is full of truly unexpected twists and turns. She is able to write about sibling relationships with charming accuracy and her characters are well fleshed-out and true to their characterisations, be it the naive single-mindedness of a teenager of the smouldering ambition of a finally-free woman. Nobel Prize winning activist Malala Yousafzai, shared her excitement about the film at the premiere, stating "I adored Polite Society, such a clever and captivating film about the lengths sisters will go to protect each other and support their dreams. Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya delivered such dynamite performances and I loved watching the whole cast perform all the martial arts and stunts. It’s so wonderful to see Nida Manzoor continue to share positive and complex portrayals of South Asian Muslim women.”
It is rare when the ethnicity and culture of the characters of colour in a film are not the entirety of the storyline of a film. Whilst the culture of Polite Society’s characters play a key (and fun) role in its story, it’s possible to image the film with characters of another ethnicity or culture. Having said that, seeing south Asian women doing martial arts on the big screen brought whoops and cheers all around and even goosebumps! It is a game charger for young south Asian teenage girls and women to see themselves on the silver screen being bold, brave, silly, ambitious and kicking down anyone who stands in their way. The uniqueness and quirkiness of the film is in part due to it being an independent story. It is joyful to return to the cinema to watch a movie that is not part of a decades long saga and producers and studios would do well to remember that there is a thrust for one-off stories. Take your sisters, blood or otherwise to watch this one.
DJ Tara Kumar at the Polite Society premiere at the Curzon in Mayfair.