Masala (1991 film)
| Masala | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Srinivas Krishna |
| Written by | Srinivas Krishna |
| Produced by | Camelia Frieberg Srinivas Krishna |
| Starring | Srinivas Krishna Zohra Sehgal Saeed Jaffrey Sakina Jaffrey Madhuri Bhatia |
| Cinematography | Paul Sarossy |
| Edited by | Mike Munn |
| Music by | Leslie Winston |
Production company | Divani Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Masala is a 1991 Canadian drama film starring, written, and directed by Srinivas Krishna.[1]
Plot
[edit]Krishna is an orphan in Toronto whose parents and siblings were killed several years earlier in the Air India Flight 182 explosion while travelling back to India for a family visit, and who is now cleaning up his act after several years living on the streets as a drug addict and criminal.
The film also stars Zohra Sehgal as his grandmother; Saeed Jaffrey in a triple role as his uncle Lallu, a postal worker named Hariprasad and the Hindu god Krishna; and Sakina Jaffrey as Rita, Hariprasad's daughter.[2]
Distribution
[edit]The film premiered at the 1991 Toronto International Film Festival.[3]
Response
[edit]The film has been described as drawing on some the cinematic traditions of Bollywood rather than relying solely on the social realist conventions of Canadian film.[4]
It has come to be recognized, alongside Deepa Mehta's contemporaneous Sam & Me, as being the first major landmark films about the Indo-Canadian experience.[5]
Accolades
[edit]The film received the Samuelson Award at the Birmingham International Film and Television Festival in 1991,[6] and Saeed Jaffrey received a Genie Award nomination for Best Actor at the 12th Genie Awards.[7]
Digital release
[edit]In 2023, Telefilm Canada announced that the film was one of 23 titles that will be digitally restored under its new Canadian Cinema Reignited program to preserve classic Canadian films.[8]
The restored version screened in the Classics program at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ Suanne Kelman, "Lord Krishna tries on a hockey sweater". Toronto Star, July 7, 1990.
- ^ "A take-no-prisoners effort: It's a dish that defies simple description". The Province, June 5, 1992.
- ^ Jay Scott, "Finding solace in tragedy with life-enhancing comedy: First-time directors Srinivas Krishna and Jan Oxenberg have each created a bizarre, very funny film based on bizarre, very unfunny realities". The Globe and Mail, September 14, 1991.
- ^ Tom McSorley, "Masala". The Canadian Encyclopedia, September 21, 2009.
- ^ Shlomo Schwartzberg, "'Film-makers of color' resist being pigeon-holed". Financial Post, August 13, 1994.
- ^ "Masala wins award". Toronto Star, October 5, 1991.
- ^ "Genies love dark Black Robe; Beresford film leads pack with 10 Genie nominations". Halifax Daily News, October 10, 1991.
- ^ Pat Mullen, "Oscar Winning Doc Leads List of Restored Canadian Classics". Point of View, May 9, 2023.
- ^ Etan Vlessing, "Toronto Film Fest Adds Wang Bing, Roberto Minervini, Miguel Gomes Films to Wavelengths". The Hollywood Reporter, August 8, 2024.
External links
[edit]- 1991 films
- 1991 drama films
- 1991 directorial debut films
- Canadian drama films
- Films set in Toronto
- Films shot in Toronto
- Films about Indian Canadians
- 1990s English-language films
- Films about terrorism in India
- Hindu mythology in popular culture
- Krishna in popular culture
- Air India Flight 182
- 1990s Canadian films