I saw this film when it first hit the "Identity Politics" circuit in 1991. It was great then, and remains exceptional in 2004. The film has an engaging storyline, but its greatest achievement is looking at the struggle for identity from multiple perspectives, all with sardonic wit. For example, early in the film, Lord Krishna moans, "Why can't a god be more like a man?" There are some wonderful observations on the situation of Indians in Canada, and a great minor subplot on Sikh activists in Canada. The only weakness is the end, which I won't reveal here. I would hope some wise distributor would re-release this gem.
5 Reviews
Should be a Cult Classic
emedberry20 November 2023
After all these years, how can it be that this film is not deeply loved by millions? This is a classic comedy romp, full of love, interplay, culture-clash, materialism vs. Spirituality - everything's here! Beautiful people, silky onscreen presence, clever banter, respect for the medium of film that rivals Spike Lee......What happened?
If anybody has seen Do the Right Thing, or even a silly John Candy Movie, I just have to say they are missing out without really getting to know this film. If anybody is put off by the Indian/Hindu flavor here, then please pick up a book and realize that the Gods of Indian mythology are just like the Greek Gods - more like people than "Gods".
This movie is just f*&^^$ cute!!!
If anybody has seen Do the Right Thing, or even a silly John Candy Movie, I just have to say they are missing out without really getting to know this film. If anybody is put off by the Indian/Hindu flavor here, then please pick up a book and realize that the Gods of Indian mythology are just like the Greek Gods - more like people than "Gods".
This movie is just f*&^^$ cute!!!
Very different South Asian Diaspora Movie
downandoutdrifter15 September 2006
Okay I don't like to throw around words like South Asian Diaspora but I don't know else to say it. For those of South Asian descent living in other countries, I recommend this film. It's been several years since I've seen it but it was so different that it stuck out in my memory. I've watched many of South Asian Diaspora films and few show this kind of creativity. I didn't love the film, but I really appreciated if that makes any sense. It wasn't simply trying to take advantage of South Asain identity to market itself- it was accepting it, incorporating it, and raging against it. I remember that there is South Asian character with a switchblade. That's right. I think that South Asian characters should have switchblades now and again. They shouldn't always be upset about arranged marriages (though that fertile ground is yet to be done effectively). Another poster talks about early 90's identity politics and it's probably a good place to position this critically. Certainly, a comparison can be made to "My Beautiful Laundrette" though that is a very different film. It has some of the same bravado and complexities behind it. I'm really glad to see there is another project on the horizon for this director.
A great Toronto movie.
philpaine27 September 2007
I first saw this film with a roomful of friends, some of South Asian background, some not, but all Canadians raised in Toronto. I think we all enjoyed it more for its "Toronto-ness" than for anything as dourly serious as "identity politics". It had the feel of our city, and the same goofiness that you would see in Strange Brew. Seeing the venerable Saeed Jaffrey as the God Krishna in a Leaf's goalie uniform had us rolling on the floor with laughter. And the same actor as the long-suffering postal clerk, to whom Krishna delivers the rarest Canadian stamp, but is unwilling to sell it either to satisfy his wife's craving for appliances or the government's pressure, is the Canadian Everyman in a nutshell.
The masala stew is pot-boiling
lor_21 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
My review was written in March 1993 after watching the movie at a Times Square screening room.
A severe case of first filmitis afflicts "Masala", a free-wheeling satire set in Toronto's subculture of residents hailing from India. Distributor's best shot is to find a cult following.
With targets ranging as wide as stamp collecting, real estate fanatics on TV, Canadian stereotypes and assimilation-prone Indians, debuting filmmaker Srinivas Krishna scores points for originality. Unfortunately his weakness with actors and overly aggressive visual gimmicks make "Masala" tedious in the extreme.
Krishna himself plays the thoroughly dislikable rebel named Krishna who feels guilty for being a no-show when his parents and brother were killed in a plane crash. He moves in with rich Toronto relatives, the Solankis, who run a clothing boutique.
Beautiful Bibi Solanki (Madhuri Bhatia) dreams of having husband Lallu (Saeed Jaffrey) corner the world market on saris. To this end she urges him to use the shop as a front for Sikh terrorists who promise him $500,000.
Krishna is attracted to BIbi but falls in love with RIta (Sakina Jaffrey), a highly assimilated daughter of distant relative Tikkoo (also played by Saeed Jaffrey as a nerd). TIkkoo is a stamp collecting postman who inadvertently receives a stamp worth $5,000,000, one the Canadian government is desperate to recover.
Numerous subplots include Krishna's obsession with retrieving the $800 owed him by drug addict former girlfriend Lisa (Jennifer Armstrong), Tikkoo's mom (Zohra Segal), who communicates with the god Krishna (third role with heavy makeup for Saeed Jaffrey) via magically interactive video cassette; Solanki's son Anil (Herjit Singh Johal) fated to an arranged marriage, and the Mounties plus SWAT team converging to bust the Sikhs.
Punctuating this messy stew (or masala) are a couple of misguided musical numbers meant to adapt the traditional Bombay musical to music video but merely stalling the action.
Krishna's mish-mash includes explicit sex (a full-frontal shot of himself that stamps this a vanity production plus highly erotic footage of Anil's betrothed Tova Gallimor)e that takes pic into the underground NC-17 range. He encourages his cast to overact and pull faces in closeup, resulting in hammy fun from Saeed Jaffrey bjut to many bug-eyed shots of Segal and Singh Johal.
Jaffrey's real-life daughter Sakina Jaffrey is appealing as the heroine, coming off as the most naturalistic thesp in context.
Colorful photography by Paul Sarossy is as self-conscious and distracting as the heavy-handed director evidently wanted it to be.
A severe case of first filmitis afflicts "Masala", a free-wheeling satire set in Toronto's subculture of residents hailing from India. Distributor's best shot is to find a cult following.
With targets ranging as wide as stamp collecting, real estate fanatics on TV, Canadian stereotypes and assimilation-prone Indians, debuting filmmaker Srinivas Krishna scores points for originality. Unfortunately his weakness with actors and overly aggressive visual gimmicks make "Masala" tedious in the extreme.
Krishna himself plays the thoroughly dislikable rebel named Krishna who feels guilty for being a no-show when his parents and brother were killed in a plane crash. He moves in with rich Toronto relatives, the Solankis, who run a clothing boutique.
Beautiful Bibi Solanki (Madhuri Bhatia) dreams of having husband Lallu (Saeed Jaffrey) corner the world market on saris. To this end she urges him to use the shop as a front for Sikh terrorists who promise him $500,000.
Krishna is attracted to BIbi but falls in love with RIta (Sakina Jaffrey), a highly assimilated daughter of distant relative Tikkoo (also played by Saeed Jaffrey as a nerd). TIkkoo is a stamp collecting postman who inadvertently receives a stamp worth $5,000,000, one the Canadian government is desperate to recover.
Numerous subplots include Krishna's obsession with retrieving the $800 owed him by drug addict former girlfriend Lisa (Jennifer Armstrong), Tikkoo's mom (Zohra Segal), who communicates with the god Krishna (third role with heavy makeup for Saeed Jaffrey) via magically interactive video cassette; Solanki's son Anil (Herjit Singh Johal) fated to an arranged marriage, and the Mounties plus SWAT team converging to bust the Sikhs.
Punctuating this messy stew (or masala) are a couple of misguided musical numbers meant to adapt the traditional Bombay musical to music video but merely stalling the action.
Krishna's mish-mash includes explicit sex (a full-frontal shot of himself that stamps this a vanity production plus highly erotic footage of Anil's betrothed Tova Gallimor)e that takes pic into the underground NC-17 range. He encourages his cast to overact and pull faces in closeup, resulting in hammy fun from Saeed Jaffrey bjut to many bug-eyed shots of Segal and Singh Johal.
Jaffrey's real-life daughter Sakina Jaffrey is appealing as the heroine, coming off as the most naturalistic thesp in context.
Colorful photography by Paul Sarossy is as self-conscious and distracting as the heavy-handed director evidently wanted it to be.
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