Why this movie: Sometimes, I want to forget about the news and life’s minor irritations—the spreader on the subway taking up three seats; the nonchalant menace who didn’t pick up after their dog. Sometimes, I wouldn’t even mind felling those evil doers with a single well-placed karate chop. Given that I’m a believer in non-violence and not a practitioner of the martial arts, watching Polite Society, a smart, funny, action movie, satisfies my craving for both levity and vengeance.
Ria Khan (Priya Kansara), a Pakistani-Briton, longs to become a movie stuntwoman. When her art-school dropout sister, Lena (Umbrella Academy’s Ritu Arya) becomes engaged to an eligible Pakistani doctor whom everyone adores but who Ritu thinks is a “smarmy wanker,” she decides to investigate. Playing off stereotypes about the South Asian marriage market, the film offers plenty of wit and surprises. There are over-the-top action sequences, schoolgirl drama, aunty jokes, gorgeous costumes, and a final dance number—because, why not? Ria’s parents play it cool—they’re just ordinary concerned people who happen to be South Asian. And Lena’s future mother-in-law (Nimra Bucha) brilliantly channels Cruella de Vil, Pakistani style. One of her whispered threats: “How about the bikini area?”
What they said: “Once we got the go-ahead for the movie I was still really nervous,” director Nida Manzoor said. “I had to leave voice notes to remind myself that it would be amazing. It was strange to go from so much rejection to having a big budget and the backing of a major studio like Universal. It felt like I had gone from being the ignored girl who takes off her glasses in the film to become the hot one everyone notices!”
Written and directed by Nida Manzoor. With Priya Kansara, Ritu Arya, Nimra Bucha. 1 hour 44 minutes.
Streaming on multiple platforms.
