Polite Society: a high-octane action-comedy kicking down South Asian and Muslim women stereotypes
Words by Puja Nandi
a story about fighting the status quo, sticking it to the patriarchy, and reclaiming bodily autonomy
From the director and writer of smash-hit Channel 4 comedy, We Are Lady Parts, this is Nida Manzoor’s next big thing. And it’s big. Nida has catapulted from TV to the big screen with her debut feature film Polite Society. This is a gloriously high-octane action-comedy that does nothing less than offer roundhouse kicks (true to the film’s martial arts style) to many stereotypes about South Asian and Muslim women.
Polite Society is a story led by the central character Ria Khan, played by Priya Kansara (Bridgerton), a teenager who won’t let her acne and geography coursework get in the way of her dream of becoming a stuntwoman. Ria’s older sister Lena, played by Ritu Arya (The Umbrella Academy), is an art school dropout, much to her parent’s relief who are trying to juggle being supportive parents and the community’s expectations to set their daughters on ‘respectable’ paths.
Lena seems to be the rebellious role model that Ria needs to validate her own non-traditional career plans. Both sisters are equally headstrong, love to talk it out by having a good old thrash at each other but deep down they’re fiercely loyal to each other. After becoming disillusioned with her artistic endeavours, Lena diverts her attention to love instead and becomes utterly smitten with Salim - a doctor who saves babies and disgustingly does everything his mother tells him to.
When Lena becomes engaged to Salim, the wedding bells stoke Ria’s anger at her sister for doing what she coins, a ‘Jane Austen’ - getting swept up in a sickly romance with someone she barely knows. From thereon begins Ria’s descent into martial-arts-wielding-wedding-wrecking madness. The film develops from being more than just saving a sister from the clutches of a dull society-approved marriage but rather a story about fighting the status quo, sticking it to the patriarchy, and reclaiming bodily autonomy. Combine that with a whole barrel of laughs, a wicked soundtrack, and comic-book-style fight scenes and you have an example of a film that uses comedy to make a point.
a refreshing rebuttal to the typecast bit parts you often see South Asian women relegated to in film and TV
Salim’s mother, Raheela, is played by Nimra Bucha (Ms. Marvel) and deserves a tonne of praise for playing the story villain so expertly. Raheela is somewhat of a progressive woman herself, confidently pointing out to her son over breakfast that women should be able to talk about the flow of their periods freely. However, within this feminist edge also lies an egotist who will stop at nothing to get what she wants - even torture waxing Ria as punishment for her meddling in her son’s marriage, a memorably funny scene to say the least. This juxtaposition of a strong, progressive woman versus one who doesn’t think twice before exploiting other women is a clever nod to the other aspects of structural sexism in which women are complicit.
As further sinister details emerge, you could be reminded of Simon Pegg’s Hot Fuzz from the Cornetto Trilogy which plays on the same riffs around ostentatiously sweet village elders who, when no one is looking, are comically evil schemers.
The idea for Polite Society came to Nida ten years ago, taking years for her to find the perfect collaborators to bring the script to life. “It’s been a long road, but I have now been able to make the feature film of my dreams,” shares Nida.
Similar to We Are Lady Parts, Polite Society also channels a punk spirit in its South Asian women cast - a trademark theme of Nida’s that makes her stand out in a homogenous industry. “My favourite thing about making film and television is the opportunity to bring marginalised communities into mainstream genres - action, sci-fi, comedy,” says Nida. “Occupying areas of storytelling we are so often invisible in. I love writing comedy. It’s my go-to form of expression when I put pen to paper, my most natural form of storytelling. I feel comedy is the most disarming of all the genres. If done well it can make us warm to characters from different backgrounds deeply and immediately.”
It’s a refreshing rebuttal to the typecast bit parts you often see South Asian women relegated to in film and TV - doctors, terrorists, wives of terrorists, shop owners, wives of shop owners, the list goes on. Nida has previously spoken about how Executives said that Lena’s character should be forced into her marriage as it would make for better viewing. And while Nida initially doubted herself, it was important for her to give Lena agency in her character to move away from the one-dimensional portrayals of South Asians on screen. It has been a very long time since we had a majority South Asian cast in British movies, perhaps since East Is East or Bend It Like Beckham.
Priya Kansara takes to her leading role as naturally as Michael Cera does in Scott Pilgrim vs The World. Incredibly, she does most of her own stunts in the film and for someone fairly new to the acting world, she’s truly a promising talent to watch.
All in all, this is an audacious, over-the-top, wild action comedy that will guarantee anyone a good time. We can’t wait to see what Nida Manzoor does next.
Polite Society is out now in cinemas.
