Toronto: Three Indo-Canadians filmmakers will have their latest projects have their world premiere at the 51st edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
The film is heavily inspired by the late Phoolan Devi 1986 autobiography. The Surgeon , directed by Roshan Sethi, Phoolan from Richie Mehta, and Ian Bawa’s Strong Son , will provide the Indo-Canadian community with its most significant presence at North America’s most celebrated movie event. Meanwhile, Ian Bawa, who is from Winnipeg in the province of Manitoba, will present his full-length feature debut with Strong Son . It builds on the short feature, Strong Son and The Best , which also premiered at TIFF. Phoolan is the latest project from Richie Mehta, who is from the Greater Toronto Area, studied at the University of Toronto and once was even a volunteer at TIFF. Bawa’s film is the only Canadian production of the three. Phoolan is an Indian film, while Ireland is listed as the country for The Surgeon.
TIFF’s director of programming Robyn Citizen noted that Sethi drew “from his unique background as a physician to deliver a pulse-pounding ride that pays homage to genre films, from kidnapping thriller to surgical drama to home invasion”. “With equal attention to constructing breathless fight scenes and fleshing out character histories, this scalp ‘em up’ signals the return of the classic 2000s action blockbuster,” she added. TIFF programmer Jason Anderson stated with this “perceptive and affecting” film, the director “takes several confident steps deeper into the explorations of masculinity, identity, and Sikh family dynamics”. Already known for his police procedural Delhi Crime , Mehta brings “his restrained and realistic true-crime sensibilities” to this biopic of the bandit queen, Citizen pointed out. In her description of the film, she said, “this Devi is riveting — unflinchingly challenging the suffocating patriarchy and commanding respect from the men around her in ways that belie her age.
