The director talks about his genre-trampling film Sister Midnight, the hilarious and gory story of a female force of nature stifled in an arranged marriageOne of the most powerful scenes in Sister Midnight is also a quiet and unexpected one. The protagonist, Uma, sits idly with her neighbour Sheetal outside their adjoining homes in Mumbai. To pass the time, the bored housewives pretend to be divorcing one another. Amid the role play, Uma turns to her confidant and says: “I’m tainted goods, I’m a divorcee. But it’s OK. I’ll wear this like a badge and go forth to the hills, form a manless nation and build a monolithic altar to the pussy.”The statement captures what is so provocative about the film – it turns societal norms on their head and dares to ask: what if we did things differently? At its core, the film feels quite feminist. “That word comes up a lot,” says director Karan Kandhari. “I’m happy people can see the film like that, but I didn’t set out to make something with an agen...
Director Karan Kandhari discusses his debut feature film, "Sister Midnight," a punk rock, genre-bending, Mumbai-set surreal comedy exploring arranged marriage and the experience of being an outsider. Kandhari drew inspiration from filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Scorsese, Buster Keaton, and Robert Altman, as well as various musical genres, and collaborated with actress Radhika Apte.
