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Deeper Mehta

BEEBA BOYS written and directed by Deepa Mehta, with Randeep Hooda, Waris Ahluwalia  and Sarah Allen. A Mongrel release. 103 minutes. Opens Friday (October 16). See listings.


Deepa Mehta’s tired of hearing that Beeba Boys is a departure from her previous work. She says the connection between her new gangster film and her trilogy about women’s experience in India – or her tender drama Sam And Me or Bollywood/Hollywood, for that matter – is very clear.

“I feel nauseated by the comment,” she says at TIFF 2015, clad in jeans, oxblood-colour Blundstones and a navy  sweater. “All my concerns are in the film: assimilation, identity, immigration, the way women look at men. Stupidly, they’re calling Beeba Boys a genre film.”

Not that she has a hate-on for the gangster genre. Quite the opposite.

“I love it. I’ve always loved it. I love the violence. That’s politically incorrect, but I don’t care – violence is an aspect of life. There’s a reason why we slow down when we see an accident by the side of the road. It’s fascinating, even if in a negative way.”

Don’t assume, she says, that as a female filmmaker she has to justify her interest in the brutal side of life.

“Violence exists. People kill each other. I’ve never felt that as a woman I have to be careful, though as a diehard feminist I will look at violence and patriarchy in a certain way. I can’t help but see it through the lens of my gender. The way I look at war is different, the way I look at lesbians is different, the way I look at widowhood is different.”

Her interest in the criminal life was piqued by her exploration of why some Indian immigrants to Canada are attracted to the underworld.

“Crime is one of the stops that immigrants may make on their way to assimilation,” she says. “It’s a way station, a way to get instant respect. You see immediate results it’s like using Windex. It’s not hard work. You don’t have to work your way from bank teller to CEO.”

In India, gangsters aren’t immigrants, she says. It’s more about class. The Beeba Boys story could have happened only in Canada, and she loves its Canadiana aspects, including a honkin’ table-hockey game and a thug’s idolization of David Suzuki.

“It was great to be able to do Canadian things. The flag is there. This is us. Yes, it’s a negative role model, but it is a cry from immigrants to be seen.”

She makes a point of mentioning how the situation for South Asian actors has changed. 

“Twelve years ago, when I made Bollywood/Hollywood, I couldn’t find any male actors here in Canada who were brown. 

“Things are really changing.”

Don’t miss our review of Beeba Boys here. 

susanc@nowtoronto.com | @susangcole

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