21 June 2024

Polite Society (2023)

Not released in South African cinemas, 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.

As Ria, Priya Kansara was nominated for Best Actress in an Action Movie at this year’s Critics Choice Super Awards. She was also up for the Breakthrough Performance Award at the 2023 British Independent Film Awards, where her co-star Ritu Arya (Barbie, The Umbrella Academy, Red Notice) was nominated for Best Supporting Performance as Lena, and the movie earned debut feature film writer-director Nida Manzoor (the BAFTA-winning creator of the series We Are Lady Parts) a nom for Best Debut Screenwriter.

Following its world premiere at Sundance, Polite Society was named among The Guardian's Best Films of 2023 and racked up a 90% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus says, “Polite Society throws, kicks, and punches the genre etiquette book out the window to deliver a fun film that blends Bollywood splendour and British wryness.” Or as Observer (UK) puts it, Polite Society is a “kickass celebration of sisterly bonds.”

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