ENTERTAINMENT

TIFF 23: Dear Jassi

Posted on October 22, 2023 | by Priya Chopra

Tarsem Singh Dhandwar has directed hundreds of commercials, music videos, and Hollywood films such as The Cell, The Fall, Mirror Mirror, and Immortals. Dear Jassi is a story that Dhandwar has wanted to tell, and share with the world for a long time. He described the feeling as a monkey on his back, knowing he needed to tell this story, and thus returned to India to make the film.

Opening with Bulleh Shah’s famous lines, “Tear down the mosque, the temple, everything in sight. But don't break a human heart. For that is where God resides.” The film starts with Sufi singer Kanwar Grewal in rural Punjab sharing Shah’s poetry. The film is a true story based on the love story of Mithu (Yugam Sood) and Jassi (Pavia Sidhu). Both are newcomer actors, who portrayed Mithu and Jassi with much sincerity and compassion.

23 years ago, I remember hearing the horrific case of Jassi, a Canadian woman from Maple Ridge, BC who was kidnapped and murdered in India for falling in love with a rickshaw driver from a small village in Punjab called Jagraon. Caste, occupation, status all came to light for Jassi’s mother and uncle, who never accepted their relationship, yet alone their marriage. Jassi’s mother and uncle hired people to have Jassi and Mithu killed.

The film shows how quickly Jassi and Mithu connect and fall in love in Punjab. Mithu is an avid Kabbadi player, and Jassi is seen attending his matches. He catches her eye, and the two start to connect with the help of her cousin. Letters, and phone calls are depicted with Mithu waiting by the phone in India, and Jassi back in B.C. Jassi quickly realizes her family will never accept Mithu, so secretly decides to marry him and start a life where she can bring him and his mom to Canada. Challenges continue to arise once family members find out about their marriage, and danger and tragedy strike once Jassi’s mom and Uncle are involved.

Director Tarsem Singh Dhandwar’s Dear Jassi won the Platform Award at TIFF 2023. It is an award of $20,000 given to the best film by an international jury consisting of Nadine Labaki, Barry Jenkins, and Anthony Shim.

The Platform Jury released this statement: “Dear Jassi was a unanimous choice for this year's Platform Award for its honest and poignant portrayal of a subject matter that still affects large portions of individuals forced to live under the inhumanity of bitter caste systems throughout the globe. The film has the perfect blend of craft, purpose and faith in its audience, creating a world that is both richly cinematic and steadfastly realistic. The young leads, Yugam Sood and Pavia Sidhu, are by turns breathtaking and, in performances that pull no punches, heartbreaking. Altogether an emphatic work by director Tarsem Singh Dhandwar and his many wonderful collaborators; a film that would be worthy of accolades in any section and which we enthusiastically welcome into the pantheon of winners in this Platform section.”

The film is a sad reminder of the injustice that is part of Canada’s legal system. 23 years later, Mithu is still in jail today, in Punjab. Jassi’s mom and uncle were extradited to India to face the murder trial back in January 2019, but are now out on bail.

A harsh and heartbreaking reality, it may take years more to get justice for Jassi, and freedom for Mithu after losing the love of his life.

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