Aamir Khan and Goodness Gracious Me reunion headline London Indian Film Festival 2026

London Indian Film Festival has unveiled the programme for its 17ᵗʰ edition, with Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan and the cast of Goodness Gracious Me leading a line-up that also includes UK premieres, filmmaker Q&As and a showcase exploring the future of AI in cinema.

Running across London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Bradford, the festival opens on 9ᵗʰ July with the European premiere of Ali El Arabi’s coming-of-age drama 52 Blue, starring Adil Hussain and Neha Dhupia. The director and cast are expected to attend selected screenings.

Among the festival’s headline events is Aamir Khan in Conversation at BFI Southbank on 16ᵗʰ July, celebrating the 25ᵗʰ anniversary of the Oscar-nominated Lagaan. The actor and filmmaker will reflect on his career, from his early years in cinema to becoming one of Indian cinema’s biggest international stars, following a screening of Lagaan at BFI IMAX earlier in the festival.

Another major draw sees the principal cast of the landmark BBC sketch series Goodness Gracious Me reunite on stage for the first time in years. Sanjeev Bhaskar, Meera Syal, Nina Wadia, Kulvinder Ghir and co-creator Anil Gupta will revisit the show’s legacy and its lasting impact on British comedy and South Asian representation.

Alongside its gala events, this year’s programme features a host of UK premieres, including In Search of the Sky, Master, Roid and All About Weddings, alongside restored classics such as In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones and Peter Brook’s The Mahabharata. The festival will also continue its long-running Too Desi Too Queer strand, showcase emerging filmmakers through the Satyajit Ray Short Film Competition, and host Europe’s first Indian AI & Film Showcase, examining how artificial intelligence is shaping the future of filmmaking.

Speaking about the programme, festival CEO and programming director Cary Rajinder Sawhney said: “Bringing together a glittering box of indie gemstone films from some of the world’s finest film festivals to UK premiere at our five-city festival offers a rare treat to our audiences and an opportunity to experience the rich creativity of the world’s most populated region.”

London Indian Film Festival runs from 9ᵗʰ–16ᵗʰ July, with sister festivals and screenings continuing across Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Bradford.

The editorial unit
Image: Courtesy of London Indian Film Festival 

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