Masala (1992)

Five years ago, under the watchful eye of the great god Krishna, a plane of Indians returning to the homeland exploded in Canadian skies. A mortal also named Krishna lost his family in that... See full summary »

Director:

Srinivas Krishna

Writer:

Srinivas Krishna

Stars:

Srinivas Krishna, Sakina Jaffrey, Zohra Segal

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Srinivas Krishna	...	Krishna
Sakina Jaffrey	...	Rita Solanki
Zohra Segal	...	Grandma (as Zohra Sehgal)
Saeed Jaffrey	...	Lallu Bhai Solanki / Mr. Tikkoo / Lord Krishna
Heri Johal	...	Anil
Madhuri Bhatia	...	Bibi Solanki
Ronica Sajnani	...	Sashi
Les Porter	...	Gerald
Ishwarial M. Moolijee	...	Bamadour Singh
Raju Ahsan	...	Babu
Jennifer Armstrong	...	Lisa
Don Callaghan	...	John MacDonald
Paul Persofsky	...	Lawyer
Sachin Bannerjea	...	Mr. Chabra
Ran Ghoman	...	Pinky

Storyline

Five years ago, under the watchful eye of the great god Krishna, a plane of Indians returning to the homeland exploded in Canadian skies. A mortal also named Krishna lost his family in that crash. In the present, this mortal Krishna has found himself a former heroin addict with a nebulous past, and has returned to his mother's family: an aunt who married a sari dealer. He becomes involved in their lives, as they deal with their cultural identity with a fawning Canada, eager to patronize their Indian subjects when convenient, but willing to be aggressive when they need to, as when Mr. Tikkoo wants to keep a rare stamp he found for his collection but which the Canadian authorities determine is of historical interest. In all of this, the mighty god Krishna moves, increasingly troubled by his lack of relevancy in this alien land.

---

Plot Keywords:

krishna | heroin addict | actor playing multiple roles | stabbing | male frontal nudity | 

---

Taglines:

Good Fortune... Bad Karma.

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

March 1993 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Divani Films, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Film Development Corporation, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

User Reviews

Very different South Asian Diaspora Movie

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.