Bollywood actor and filmmaker Aamir Khan will appear in conversation at BFI Southbank on July 16 as the closing gala of the London Indian Film Festival‘s 17th edition, which runs July 9–19 across London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Bradford.
Khan’s event is tied to a 25th anniversary screening of his Academy Award-nominated colonial epic “Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India” at BFI Imax on July 12.
As previously announced, the festival opens with the European premiere of “52 Blue,” directed by Ali El Arabi (“Captains of Zaatari”) and starring Adil Hussain and Neha Dhupia. The film screens at BFI Southbank on July 9, followed by dates in Birmingham, Sheffield and Greater London through July 17.
The Central Gala on July 11 at BFI Southbank reunites the full cast of the 1990s BBC sketch comedy “Goodness Gracious Me,” with Sanjeev Bhaskar, Meera Syal, Nina Wadia, Kulvinder Ghir and Anil Gupta all expected onstage.
A restoration also anchors the program: the Berlinale 2026-screened “In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones,” directed by Pradip Krishen, receives its U.K. premiere in a new 4K version at BFI Southbank and HOME Manchester. The 1989 cult film, set in a Delhi architecture school in the mid-1970s, was written by and features Booker Prize laureate Arundhati Roy. Originally produced for Indian state broadcaster Doordarshan, it aired once before vanishing from circulation for decades. The restoration, by the Film Heritage Foundation, also offers audiences an early glimpse of Shah Rukh Khan, who appears in a small role.
