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.
Contents
Premise
A woman is transformed into a disturbing and ruthless figure after entering an arranged marriage.
Cast
Radhika Apte as Uma
Ashok Pathak as Gopal
Chhaya Kadam as Sheetal
Smita Tambe as Reshma
Subhash Chandra as Sher Singh
Production
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 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
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.