A London schoolgirl and tireless martial-artist-in-training, Ria Khan is determined to become a world-renowned stunt woman. She’s crushed when her big sister, Lena, drops out of art school, starts dating Salim — the charming, wealthy son of the prominent Shah family — and announces, after barely a month, that they plan to marry and move to Singapore! How could Lena abandon her artistic dreams to become some trophy wife? But Ria soon realizes that something isn’t right, leaving her no choice but to enlist her friends in a daring mission to kidnap Lena from her own wedding.
The wickedly funny, cinematically exuberant debut feature of Nida Manzoor (creator of We Are Lady Parts), POLITE SOCIETY is an Austenesque tale of two sisters (one in wedding shackles) by way of a loving, anarchic mashup of genres (action comedy, heist, martial arts, Bollywood, social horror). Moreover, it’s an ingenious refashioning of British diasporic storytelling. Newcomer and force of nature Priya Kansara leads an amazing cast, including Ritu Arya as Lena and Nimra Bucha as the nefarious Shah matriarch.
“The film’s crowning glory is Manzoor succeeding in complementing the film’s wild, riotous narrative detours…with breathless, high-octane energy throughout its 104-minute-runtime…. If there’s anything better than watching two young, brown women be thoroughly badass onscreen, then it’s the realization that films like POLITE SOCIETY are a necessary reminder that feminine anxieties — both polite and impolite — deserve to be treated as compelling movie subjects.” —Poulomi Das, The Playlist “Invokes the spirit of Bruce Lee, infusing Muslim traditions with a whole bunch of kung fu…. It’s a true crowd-pleaser that’s paced within an inch of its life” —Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence Film “Nida Manzoor weaves a hyper-creative coming-of-age tale about (pause to take a big breath): fighting the patriarchy, gut-punching feminine expectations, THE MATRIX, Islam, martial arts, family dynamics, high school dynamics, fresh-pressed juice, romance, friendship, forced leg waxing, possibly evil hybrid alien babies, diplomacy, computer hacking, and one seriously cool convertible.” —Kate Erbland, IndieWire
