Nida Manzoor's ("We Are Lady Parts") spiky feminist action comedy, "Polite Society," has teenage Ria Khan (Priya Kansara), hoping to stop her sister Lena (Rita Arya) from marrying Salim (Akshay Khanna). Yes, he is a fit geneticist whose work involves saving babies, but Ria senses something is off with this whole arranged marriage thing, and she is determined to stop it. Decorum be damned.
"I wanted to explore femininity and sisterhood within the action genre."
Ria, whose ambition is to be a stuntwoman, like her hero Eunice Huthart, becomes "really extra" in trying to convince everyone that Salim and his mother, Raheela (Nimra Bucha), have a nefarious purpose in mind. What makes "Polite Society" so entertaining is watching Ria embark on various missions — to steal Salim's laptop or break into his house to get some dirt — but also engage in action combat with everyone from Kovacs (Shona Babayemi), her bullying classmate, to her sister Lena (when they argue), to even Raheela. Manzoor films these sequences with just the right mix of slow-motion "Khan-Fu" and comic verve.
"Polite Society" is an auspicious feature film debut for Manzoor who critiques arranged marriages and social classes along with the patriarchy with humor, dancing, and some fabulous needle drops.
Manzoor chatted with Salon about her new film and her pop culture passions.
What are your observations about propriety and decorum? And in what ways are you rebellious?
I grew up feeling the pressure of being a "good girl" — being a good daughter, getting the right job, and marrying the right person. I felt these things quite acutely, and I felt them as a burden often. It was so cathartic to make this film and push against all of that. As women, anger is not something we are encouraged to feel or exhibit. I know I wanted to show a lot of angry women being rageful. It is an emotion I struggle with expressing, so I'm pushing against the norms and expectations that bind us and straight-jacket us that you don't see. And I wanted to do it with action as well. I loved action movies growing up. There is a thrillingness to them, and I wanted to explore femininity and sisterhood within the action genre. Seeing those things juxtaposed was exciting to me.
The film has an interesting tone that shifts between action, comedy, feminism and social issues. Can you describe how you created the set pieces and combined all these elements into a high-energy action farce? The film has the same energy as your series "We Are Lady Parts."
The most joy I get as a filmmaker is from tonal movement. I love mashing up tone and genres, and moving between comedy, light and dark. That to me is the most exciting thing. What can I bring in? I appreciate the structure of the action genre or a heist movie, ["Polite Society" features both] and in those structures, I want to be playful. So, as much as it is anarchic and wild, it is framed within tropes we understand. It is the structure of the hero's journey we know, but I like to swing on the monkey bars of that structure. That comes from writing it with a comedy pass, an action pass and a sister pass, weaving and playing and having a good time. So much of that tone is found in edit and seeing where jokes landing. That's where I get high levels of joy, in that tonal movement.
What can you say about shooting the film's fight scenes which are wuxia homages and employ slow-motion and stuntwomen?
"There is a real cruelty that can exist between sisters. You know exactly the things to say to hurt your sister."
I love to wear my references on my sleeve. These are movies I love, and I want to tell everyone I love them. I wanted the Hong Kong Kung Fu wuxia and infused it with my love of Bollywood. Getting to see the thing I love and that formed my identity juxtaposed in one moment was joyful for me. But I can feel that it would be exciting for audiences too. The interplay of a culture that is very personal and a sister story that feels grounded are featured within this wild, wacky genre of escape.
Speaking of stuntwomen, Ria worships Eunice Huthart. What can you say about hero worship? Ria looks up to her sister as well, but she also contends with a female antagonist. What can you say about the themes of sisterhood?
It's so true to being a teenager. What teen doesn't have XYZ hero on their wall but also in their life? I drew on my idolization of my sister who was the coolest, punkest person ever. I wanted to center on the sister relationship, which is different from romantic relationships, which we usually see, because there is a real cruelty that can exist between sisters. You know exactly the things to say to hurt your sister. You can be cruel, but you can have love beyond everything. It means a lot to me. With the [woman] villain character, it's beautiful to see her express anger and have total agency as well, even if she's working for the "dark side." She is still in her power looking great.
I like how you have tweaked the idea of arranged marriage and the pressures of baby making. What are your thoughts on these topics?
The pressure of arranged marriage is still very real. I did not want to go for the obvious forced marriage. Lena is struggling with her own self-doubts, and she's thinking her family is not supporting her in following her dreams.
There is also the way women in the community adore their sons and they are held in high regard, and women are just there to provide more children. It is fun to push it to a heightened place because there is a kind of truth to it. And we should do what we want as women, have as many babies as we like and be stuntwomen and artists, too.
I'm also curious about themes of assimilation and how the characters keep one foot in the old world and one foot in the new world?
When I think about assimilation and that aspect of the story, it comes naturally. It is not me trying to portray it; it's just my truth. Parents are at home and you're in a hoodie one second, then you are in wedding regalia the next. I don't consciously think about how I am going to portray the duality. I don't see it. For me, where I feel I am assimilating stuff is where I assimilate my genre into reality. Can these things blend together? Can I mix action and comedy and Bollywood? That's where I ask, "Can I exist in these spaces?"
The music is also a hybrid in the film, too, with needle drops of pop classics, rap and traditional songs. There is also an elaborate dance performance. Can you discuss that aspect of your film? It sets the tone.
Music is so important in helping set the tone. There are old Bollywood numbers, and a punk song, and it's eclectic in a film that is eclectic. I worked with my brother, Shez Manzoor, on this, and the way he writes music, he has a punk sensibility that unifies it. But there is something a bit anarchic and playful that is working through. It was exciting to throw guitars on a Bollywood moment, and then throw back to an old Japanese song from the '60s that I love. The film is a lot of pop culture, and so is the score.
Do you see your career shifting to feature films or will you continue to work in TV as viable?
I want to work in both spaces. The joy of television is that you have more time to go deeper into character. I'm excited to work more in film. Seeing this film on big screen made me so happy. It is everything I wanted. I'm interested in seeing how the world develops and where theaters remain in the landscape. I love working between TV and film. Both give me joy in different ways, and they have difficulties as well. I terms of the storytelling I like to do, I can exist is both spaces.
"Polite Society" is currently in theaters.
