Sister Midnight

Sister Midnight

Sister Midnight is a 2024 dark comedy film directed and written by Karan Kandhari in his directorial debut. The film stars Radhika Apte as a woman who is dragged into an unhappy arranged marriage and experiences chaotic events.

The film had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival during its Directors' Fortnight section on 19 May 2024. It was nominated at the 78th BAFTA Awards for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. The film was released theatrically in India on 30 May 2025.

Premise

Sister Midnight

A woman is transformed into a disturbing and ruthless figure after entering an arranged marriage.

Cast

Sister Midnight

• Radhika Apte as Uma • Ashok Pathak as Gopal • Chhaya Kadam as Sheetal • Smita Tambe as Reshma • Subhash Chandra as Sher Singh

Production

Sister Midnight

In 2022, the project received a £1.03 million production grant from the British Film Institute. The film was shot on Kodak and Panavision.

Filming

Filming took place almost entirely on location in Mumbai between February and April 2023, including slum exteriors, a purpose-built wooden shack for interior scenes, and real public spaces such as train stations and Marine Drive. A brief sequence featuring a samurai warrior was shot in Scotland.

Release

Sister Midnight

Sister Midnight had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, during the Directors' Fortnight section, on 19 May 2024. Prior to, sales company Protagonist Pictures boarded the film's worldwide sales. In July 2024, Altitude Film Distribution secured the film's distribution rights in the United Kingdom. In October 2024, Magnet Releasing acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the film. The film was released theatrically in India on 30 May 2025.

Reception

Sister Midnight

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 98% of 80 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Mocking the pressures of matrimony with a sly wink, Sister Midnight is a thrilling genre-bender that's impossible to predict." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 75 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. The film has been noted for its unique narrative and striking visual style, marking a significant contribution to Hindi-language independent cinema.

Accolades

<table><thead><tr><th>Award</th><th>Date of ceremony</th><th>Category</th><th>Recipient(s)</th><th>Result</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Cannes Film Festival</td><td>25 May 2024</td><td>Caméra d'Or</td><td>Karan Kandhari</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Fantastic Fest</td><td>24 September 2024</td><td>Next Wave – Best Feature</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Hawaii International Film Festival</td><td>12 October 2024</td><td>NETPAC Award</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Zurich Film Festival</td><td>13 October 2024</td><td>Golden Eye Award</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>British Independent Film Awards</td><td>8 December 2024</td><td>Best Lead Performance</td><td>Radhika Apte</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Best Music Supervision</td><td>Kle Savidge</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director)</td><td>Karan Kandhari</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Best Debut Screenwriter</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>British Academy Film Awards</td><td>16 February 2025</td><td>Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>