A clever and captivating film: Malala Yousafzai praises Nimra Bucha starrer ‘Polite Society’

The young humanitarian was quite taken by the leads in the film

Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai is really taking to films these days. The young activist has been immersing herself in numerous projects, like Joyland, and was also seen praising the 2023 release, Polite Society.

The humanitarian shared a picture of herself and her husband, Asser Malik, at the screening of the film. Taking to Instagram Malala also penned a heartfelt note after watching the film. “I adored Polite Society,” began Malala. “Such a clever and captivating film about the lengths sisters will go to protect each other and support their dreams.”

“Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya delivered such dynamite performances and I loved watching the whole cast perform all the martial arts and stunts,” she continued. “It’s so wonderful to see Nida Manzoor continue to share positive and complex portrayals of South Asian Muslim women. Please go see it in cinemas and theatres if you can. Thank you Focus Features for having us (even if we sometimes don’t belong in polite society).

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Malala Yousafzai (@malala)

Polite Society is a new British action comedy-drama film directed and written by Nida Manzoor, marking her feature film directorial debut. The movie stars Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya in lead roles, with Nimra Bucha, Akshay Khanna, Jeff Mirza, Ella Bruccoleri, Seraphina Beh, Shona Babayemi, and Shobu Kapoor in supporting roles.

The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 21 January 2023 and is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom and the United States on 28 April 2023, distributed by Focus Features. It was also showcased at the Glasgow Film Festival on 12 March 2023.

The plot follows Ria Khan, played by Priya Kansara, a young woman who practices martial arts to pursue her dream of becoming a stuntwoman. When her sister Lena drops out of art school and gets engaged, Ria and her friends plan to pull off a wedding heist.

Polite Society is produced by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner for Working Title with Olivier Kaempfer and John Pocock for Parkville Pictures. The film is said to have a feminist tone and voice similar to Manzoor’s BAFTA-winning sitcom series We Are Lady Parts.

Critics have praised the movie, with an approval rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 48 reviews. Robbie Collin of the Daily Telegraph called it a "rollicking" film with "infectious pep" and praised Kansara's performance, describing her as a "blatant star-in-the-making."

Overall, Polite Society promises to be an exciting and fresh addition to the action-comedy genre, with a unique feminist twist. And, if it helps, it’s Malala Yousafzai approved.

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