Bollywood actor and filmmaker Aamir Khan will take part in an in-conversation event at BFI Southbank on July 16 as the closing gala of the 17th London Indian Film Festival, which runs from July 9 to 19 across London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Bradford. The appearance is linked to a 25th anniversary screening of Khan’s Academy Award-nominated colonial drama “Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India,” scheduled for July 12 at BFI Imax.
The festival opens on July 9 with the European premiere of “52 Blue,” directed by Ali El Arabi and starring Adil Hussain and Neha Dhupia. The film will screen at BFI Southbank before continuing to Birmingham, Sheffield and Greater London through July 17. Another major highlight is the Central Gala on July 11, which reunites the cast of the 1990s BBC sketch comedy “Goodness Gracious Me.” Sanjeev Bhaskar, Meera Syal, Nina Wadia, Kulvinder Ghir and Anil Gupta are all expected to appear onstage at BFI Southbank.
Restorations and premieres also form a major part of the lineup. “In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones,” directed by Pradip Krishen, will receive its U.K. premiere in a new 4K restoration at BFI Southbank and HOME Manchester. The 1989 cult film, set in a Delhi architecture school in the mid-1970s, was written by Arundhati Roy and features an early appearance by Shah Rukh Khan. Restored by the Film Heritage Foundation, the film had largely disappeared from circulation for decades after originally airing once on Indian state broadcaster Doordarshan.
The festival will also present several U.K. premieres, including “In Search of the Sky,” directed by Jitank Singh Gurjar, which first screened at Toronto and will play in London and Birmingham. Two Bangladeshi titles from the International Film Festival of Rotterdam 2026 will also premiere in the U.K.: Rezwan Shahriar Sumit’s “Master,” winner of the Big Screen Competition at IFFR, and Mejbaur Rahman Sumon’s “Roid.” Both films will screen at the ICA in London and the Midlands Arts Centre.
A special event titled “India’s AI & Film Future” will showcase Indian films made with artificial intelligence as part of the creative process. Described as Europe’s first such platform, the event takes place at BFI Southbank on July 11 and features a jury selection overseen by director Shekhar Kapur, with panelists including Chaitanya Chinchlikar, Arati Kadav, Hardeep Gambhir, Deepa Bhatia and Prateek Arora. The program will be repeated in Manchester on October 2 in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University.
Additional strands include the LGBTQIA+ shorts program “Too Desi Too Queer,” co-curated with Manchester’s Rainbow Noir; the Satyajit Ray Short Film Competition; and a Brit-Asian shorts showcase paired with an industry panel on British Asian film talent. Peter Brook’s “The Mahabharata” will receive northern premieres in Manchester, Bradford and Sheffield, along with a Midlands premiere in Birmingham.
Festival CEO and programming director Cary Rajinder Sawhney said the opening film reflects the festival’s aim of presenting inspiring cinema, while Khan said the 25th anniversary screening of “Lagaan” is a meaningful celebration of a film that continues to connect with audiences across generations. The festival is supported by the BFI Audience Projects Fund through National Lottery funding, along with backing from Dell, the British Council, Birmingham City University and Manchester Metropolitan University.
