Indo-Canadian film honoured as classic at TIFF after 30 years

Masala, a comedic social drama, was first released in 1991, the directorial debut of the then 26-year-old Toronto-based filmmaker Srinivas Krishna, who was born in Chennai. Now, as part of a Telefilms Canada project, TIFF will feature a world premiere of a high-quality 4K digital restoration on Friday.

“It’s a wonderful thing,” Krishna said in an interview, describing the restoration as “gorgeous.” Masala was among the pioneering films to document the inner life of the Indo-Canadian community. In fact, the protagonist (played by Krishna) is left an orphan in the bombing of an aircraft, a reference to the attack by Khalistani terrorists on Air India flight 182, the Kanishka, on June 23, 1985, claiming 329 lives.

But beyond that there are the themes of racism, drug use, arranged marriages and family troubles. It was a different, far less welcoming land and Krishna is excited about a new generation being exposed to that lived reality and curious about how they will react.

“Back then, we Indians were a community of pioneering immigrants, literally disconnected from our homeland while struggling to become established in a country that received us with considerable hostility.

As the children of those immigrants, we knew that if at all we were going to survive, we had to learn to adapt. Masala is a social comedy that explores what we as a community went through during that time, with a great deal of affection, through the eyes and voices of many different characters,” he said.

Given that it was among the first to address the immigrant experience, it resonated beyond Indo-Canadians. As TIFF’s chief programming officer Anita Lee said, “I saw Masala when it was first presented by Krishna. And so I’m of that generation. We’re very, very, very excited actually to have Masala this year.”

“Bold, irreverent, and playful with an angry edge,” is how the festival’s director of programming Robyn Citizen described it.

The screening will help the film reach a wider audience as well, as it had a limited run and didn’t have access to streaming platforms that proliferate today and give greater visibility to independent productions.

Krishna, of course, is no longer in the movie business having made his last film in 2010, before moving on digital media, including mobile augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence.

He said that was in keeping with his intent of doing work that was “original and creative” and a “natural evolution” from filmmaking. But the Masala revival has him thinking of a possible return to the medium, as he said, “Maybe I’ll think about it again.”