Polite Society Ending Explained: Ria & Lena Smashes the Patriarchy!

Nida Manzoor’s Polite Society follows the story of Ria Khan, who is a stuntwoman wannabe who tries to stop her sister Lena from marrying into the family of a wicked duo of mother and son. 

But her plan to rob the wedding goes wrong and she and Lena have to escape from a horde of furious guests. Polite Society is a genre-bending film that follows the Khan sisters’ wild adventure. It is also Manzoor’s first feature film as a director and writer.

The film climaxes with a Bollywood-style dance that Ria uses to distract Raheela while her friends drug and abduct Lena. But Raheela soon gets suspicious and confronts Ria, who fights back and captures her.

Lena is taken to the wedding ceremony, but Ria exposes Raheela and Salim as villains to the crowd, who don’t trust her. Lena sees the truth and dumps Salim, then joins Ria in a final showdown with Raheela. They knock her out and escape together in a car.

Salim and Raheela’s Twisted Plot Explained

Salim and Raheela teamed up to lure women into marrying Salim, who would woo them with his manners and charm, and then propose marriage.

But Salim had no interest in love or marriage; he only wanted to marry so he could secretly conduct his experiments. Salim’s skills as an OB doctor would help Raheela achieve her dream of starting over, which she felt she deserved after losing her potential by marrying young and becoming a mother.

Salim assured his mother that he would make her dream come true, and so they devised a plan to clone Raheela and then transfer the clone to Lena’s womb, so she could give birth to it. Their Eid party was just a trick to pick the woman they thought had the ideal uterus: Lena.

By taking Lena to Singapore, Salim and Raheela would be able to manipulate her without anyone interfering with their plans, making her have a baby she never wanted.

Why Lena Wanted to Marry Salim & Avoid Ria

Lena wants to forget her artistic failures, and Ria’s opposition to Lena’s marriage to Salim makes her more determined to go through with it. Lena cares for her sister, but she also feels that Ria doesn’t really get why Lena is making this choice. 

Telling the truth, that Lena doesn’t believe in her own talent, would have hurt them both, so Lena avoids digging deeper into Salim’s character. The more Lena distanced herself from Ria, the easier it was to persuade herself that she was doing the right thing for her future and family.

Why Was Ria Against Lena & Salim’s Wedding?

Ria’s strong reaction to Lena’s hasty marriage wasn’t just about her big sister leaving her for a husband. Ria knew that Lena’s marriage to Salim meant that she had abandoned her artistic aspirations.

If someone as gifted as Lena could throw away her art and potential so easily, then Ria had no chance of achieving her own dream. As Ria’s biggest cheerleader, Lena’s wedding made Ria see how quickly her goals could be ruined, and how tempting it would be to surrender to societal expectations.

Ria wasn’t just saying goodbye to her sister; she was also losing her hope of becoming a stuntwoman along with her.

Salim’s Dark Secret About His First Wife’s Death

Salim had a previous marriage, but his wife died during labor. He doesn’t mention that his experiments on her might have caused her death.

Even though Salim was a skilled OB, cloning his mother and implanting her in his wife could have had many risks, and that could have harmed her more than a normal pregnancy. Salim probably didn’t love or care for his first wife, and he might have treated her as a test subject to get what he wanted.

Raheela’s Hypocrisy and Cruelty Towards Lena

Raheela wants to have a second chance at life through her clone, but she is denying another woman the same opportunity. She sees Lena as a tool rather than a person, putting her in a position she didn’t agree to and lying to her.

Raheela only cared about herself and fulfilling her own dreams. Her actions support the patriarchy, as she’s using her own privilege and wealth to hurt other women in the course of getting what she wants.

By doing so, Raheela takes away Lena’s freedom of choice, pushing her into a marriage while repeating the same pattern that led Raheela to where she is now.

Kovacs and Ria’s Surprising Connection

Kovacs is Ria’s school nemesis, and they are always clashing with each other in the corridors. But Kovacs agrees to help Ria not only because she gets Ria to do her homework for the rest of the year, but also because Kovacs — who rarely sees her dad — understands how it feels to miss someone you love.

Kovacs’ choice shows that she and Ria share more similarities, and that under Kovacs’ grumpy attitude is someone who just wants the love and support Ria has with Lena.

Will Lena Return to Art School Again?

Lena confesses that she may not have much talent as an artist, and her quitting art school probably made her feel like she couldn’t reach her goals. She was okay with getting married because it was what her parents, and society, expected.

But after her ruined wedding and seeing Ria’s joy after getting a reply from Eunice Huthart, Lena might either go back to art school or discover a new dream.

If Lena resumes her art, she might feel less stressed since she tried to follow the path everyone wanted her to take. In any case, Lena can now move on with honesty and without the burden of expectation.

Patriarchy & Socioeconomic Status: The Main Themes of Polite Society

Polite Society shows how patriarchal norms shape a woman’s future and identity, and how some women support patriarchal norms and manipulate others to keep their power. When Lena’s future is only valued by her marriage and motherhood, she is seen as a disappointment, and her own perspective is influenced by it.

Polite Society also addresses socioeconomic status and its impact on reputation. For instance, Raheela and Salim are regarded as superior to others in the South Asian British community because of their money, while Ria and Lena’s family is viewed as lower in status, which is also affected by the sisters’ less respectable career choices.

About Polite Society

Polite Society is a 2023 British action comedy-drama film written and directed by Nida Manzoor (in her feature film directorial debut). The film stars Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya.

The story follows two sisters, Ria and Lena Khan. Ria Khan practises martial arts in order to become a stuntwoman. But when her sister drops out of art school and gets engaged, Ria decides she and her friends must pull off a wedding-heist.