'Polite Society' Interview: Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya

Moviefone speaks with Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya about 'Polite Society.' "I hope everybody enjoys it and they'll laugh out loud, I'm sure," Kansara said.

Opening in theaters on April 28th is the 2023 Sundance Film Festival hit ‘Polite Society,’ which was written and directed by Nida Manzoor (‘We Are Lady Parts’).

What is ‘Polite Society’ movie about?

'Polite Society' follows martial artist-in-training Ria Khan (Priya Kansara) who believes she must save her older sister Lena (Ritu Arya) from her impending marriage. After enlisting the help of her friends (Ella Bruccoleri and Seraphina Beh), Ria attempts to pull off the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of independence and sisterhood.

Polite Society

"Big trouble. Little sister."

PG-131 hr 43 minApr 28th, 2023

Showtimes & Tickets

Watch Polite Society Online

Who is in the cast of ‘Polite Society?’

'Polite Society' stars Priya Kansara (‘Bridgerton’) as Ria Khan/The Fury, Ritu Arya (‘Red Notice’) as Lena Khan, Nimra Bucha (‘Ms. Marvel’) as Raheela, Shobu Kapoor (‘Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj’) as Ria and Lena’s mother, Ella Bruccoleri (‘The Last Kingdom’) as Alba, Seraphina Beh (‘EastEnders’) as Clara, Shona Babayemi (‘Home’) as Kovacs, Jeff Mirza (‘Blinded by the Light’) as Rafe Khan, and Akshay Khanna (‘Grace’) as Salim.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya about their work on ‘Polite Society,’ their characters’ sisterly bond, the action sequences, working with director Nida Manzoor, the film’s unique tone, and what they hope audiences take away from the movie.

Priya Kansara stars in 'Polite Society.'

You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Kansara and Arya, as well as filmmaker Nida Manzoor about ‘Polite Society.’

Moviefone: To begin with, Priya, can you talk about Ria's passion for stunt work, her dream of becoming a stunt person, and how that's at odds with what her parents want for her future?

Priya Kansara: Ria's so determined and spirited, and her sense of self-belief truly is really refreshing and inspiring as well. Because we don't see a lot of young women who just are like, "I don't care what anybody else thinks. I know what I want to be and I know what I want to do, and I'm going to go for it." To explore that journey with Ria and see as well the complexities of her relationships with her family members, with her sister truly supporting her from the get-go, and her parents still supporting her and showing her a whole lot of love and care, but still finding it difficult at times knowing that it's an insecure and a difficult path to go down. So it was really fun to explore that, and I hope that her self-belief really inspires a lot of the viewers.

Ritu Arya stars in 'Polite Society.'

MF: Ritu, can you talk about the sisterly bond between Priya and Lena and how that is challenged once Lena is engaged?

Ritu Arya: Well, Lena's little sister Ria is not happy about this engagement whatsoever. She definitely wants to shake Lena to just realize that it's way too soon to be thinking about this. She barely knows this guy and she has her own suspicion, so that really does drive a wedge in their relationship. Lena is just like, "Get out of my life," and it causes a ruckus between them. But they go on a journey to come back together, and naturally, Lena realizes that Ria's just looking out for the best for her, and that's what matters.

Priya Kansara stars as Ria Khan and Ritu Arya as her sister Lena in director Nida Manzoor’s 'Polite Society,' a Focus Features release.

MF: The movie has action, comedy, and drama, what was it like for you to balance those different tones in the same film?

RA: Great. It was a very rich experience. I love a bit of variety. Yeah, tons of fun. Nothing that I wouldn't have expected from Nida Manzoor.

Director Nida Manzoor, cinematographer Ashley Connor and actor Priya Kansara on the set of their film 'Polite Society,' a Focus Features release.

(L to R) Director Nida Manzoor, cinematographer Ashley Connor and actor Priya Kansara on the set of their film 'Polite Society,' a Focus Features release. Credit: Saima Khalid / © 2023 Focus Features LLC.

MF: Priya, what was it like for you working on the action sequences with director Nida Manzoor?

PK: Nida is so cool. She's the most incredible collaborator, giving all of the actors and everyone she works with so much space to give their input and have space to play and feel safe. I got to do so many different things. I feel like I filled out an entire CV with this job. It's been insane doing all the stunts and the fighting, wire work, dances, bike riding, you name it, we got to do it all. Our stunt team as well, and everybody else that worked on it was so encouraging and helped me do so much of it myself as well. That was so much fun and I learned so many new skills.

Priya Kansara stars as Ria Khan in director Nida Manzoor’s 'Polite Society,' a Focus Features release.

MF: Finally, Priya, what do you hope audiences take away from watching the film, especially about your character’s journey?

PK: One, I just hope everybody really enjoys it, like goes along for the ride, because it's just crazy, it's fun and they'll laugh out loud, I'm sure. In terms of Ria's journey, again, her self-belief is just something that I think will inspire so many people. Her love for her sister, watching this love story between the two sisters, I'm sure people will connect to and relate to as well. Hopefully everyone has something to touch on in this story.