- mmmstreams
- February 7, 2022
- 10:32 am
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Mona
I feel blessed to have the best of both worlds, says writer-filmmaker Paul Dhillon. His second film Desi Angrej: The Fusion Generation premiered at the International Film Festival of South Asia (IFFSA) earlier this month and has a fair smattering of both his worlds — Punjab and Surrey.
While, love and relationships are the core theme of this one, it’s also an ode to the rich Sikh cultural heritage in Canada. Paul elaborates, “Here in Canada, that I call home ever since I was 10, it’s much like being in Punjab. There are areas where I can get by without uttering a single word of English.”
It’s not just language, but entire cultural milieu that gives the feeling of apanapan. All this finds its way in Desi Angrej. While it’s hard to miss veteran actor Gulshan Grover in the role of pioneer Indo-Canadian-Sikh, lumber mogul Sam Sahota, in the trailer; the lead pair — Munish Sharma and Sitara Hewitt — seem like a different choice for a ‘young’ comedy.
Paul explains, “Munish Sharma is an award-winning Canadian theatre actor and Sitara Hewitt basks in the Little Mosque on the Prairies fame. The film received a good response at IFFSA. My true win is the youngsters’ response, they could relate well to the film, lovingly labelling it ‘their’ story.”
Paul’s been tracking Pollywood pretty well and happy that celebs are increasingly calling Surrey their home, with stars like Gippy Grewal, Amrinder Gill and Ran Ranbir making it their base.
“I am glad the way graph of Punjabi movie industry is shooting up,” says the Sweet Amerika director, insisting that there sure is need to go professional. “There are beautiful stories, but what Pollywood is not coming out of is the herd mentality. If a comedy does well, there is a string of comedies up for release; followed by period films, just because one caught the fancy of the audience.”
Screen writing one area that he thinks needs considerable emphasis.
As for his own, Desi Angrej, he is looking at the mid-year release. “While the film is in English, we would be releasing dubbed versions in Punjabi within specific markets,” he says.
mona@tribunemail.com
Dhillon said his aim was to entertain with the real life raunchy romantic comedy and he’s ecstatic with the response the film received from the packed screening.
With the TFG Premiere done, Dhillon and his team are off setting up the worldwide theatrical release for The Fusion Generation (DESI ANGREJ) this spring. The film will be released in dubbed Punjabi and English versions in the established Bollywood-Punjabi marlets.
“We will be announcing the Release date soon. Stay tuned!,” Dhillon said.
“…brings representation to the east Indian, Hindu, and Sikh cultures in Canada…”
I’m sure The Fusion Generation will find its audience. But for me, I have a wish list for rom-coms in the future. I wish the multi-cultural aspect of the film were so engrained in the plot, that if you removed it, the film would not make sense. I also wish the film took greater risks in telling its story. Maybe take a fresh look at the slutty fiancé, the obsessed ex-boyfriend, the unfaithful father, and the even the overbearing mother. I wish, when writing the script, the words, “how can I do this differently?” and “has this been done before?” was scrawled on the top of each page.
That said, The Fusion Generation boasts a strong cast, particularly Sitara Hewitt as Teejay and her counterpart Munish Sharma as Jag. While they did an excellent job with the story given, both are clearly up for more significant challenges in the future. You can also tell the film was an opportunity for the Sikh and Hindu communities in Vancouver to make a movie, and I’d be interested to see what the next one will be.
- The Fusion Generation (2019) Written and directed by Paul Dhillon. Starring Sitara Hewitt, Munish Sharma, Gulshan Grover, Balinder Johal.
