Masala

“I think there’s a better word than multiculturalism: it’s ‘masala,’” filmmaker Srinivas Krishna told BOMB magazine in 1993. “Multiculturalism in a sense assumes that there is an ultimate identity which I’m not sure is true. We have multiple identities, and that’s a basic truth of life.”

Bold, irreverent, and playful with an angry edge, Krishna’s debut, Masala, was one of the first Canadian films to display the rich diversity of its South Asian diaspora. A heady blend of narrative genres visualized through the colour-saturated lens of Bollywood aesthetics, the story follows Krishna (played by the filmmaker) — orphaned as a teen when his parents died in the 1985 Air India bombing. Now a disaffected young man and recovering heroin addict, Krishna returns to reconcile with his extended family, but is challenged by his inability to conform to their expectations of respectability.

In supporting turns are the sublime British-Indian actor Saeed Jaffrey from My Beautiful Laundrette and Gandhi in three vastly different roles: Krishna’s wealthy uncle, a humble postal worker named Mr. Tikkoo, and Lord Krishna, who pops into the story at regular intervals to offer commentary and assistance to the pious; his daughter Sakina Jaffrey as the fiery Rita Tikkoo; and actor, dancer, and choreographer Zohra Sehgal as Grandma Tikkoo.

More than three decades after its release, this gorgeous 4K restoration of Masala thrums with vitality, managing to be both affecting and wholly unsentimental; it is an underseen classic of Canadian cinema.

ROBYN CITIZEN

Content advisory: themes of misogyny, racism, and parental death; racist language, violence, mature themes, drug use, explicit sex, nudity, coarse language, humour that may offend

4K digital restoration generously supported by the Toronto International Film Festival and Telefilm and supervised by Srinivas Krishna. This digital restoration was made possible through Canadian Cinema - Reignited, a Telefilm Canada initiative.