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First, the Recap:
“What have I done?!” and “What am I supposed to do now??”. Two viable questions that we might ask ourselves in any number of specific circumstances, the former more during unanticipated occurrence and the latter in the face of uncertainty as to what the future holds. However, what happens when there is need to have both queries addressed within the same timeframe after having scenarios unfold that warrant asking each in turn? For now-former teacher Gayatri (Balinder Johal), her retirement party has taken a slight turn for the worse. Having consumed a paticular food item not contained withing her normal dietary norms, the ensuing panic over it births a new, undeniable curiosity that ends up not just food related, but life altering.
Next, my Mind:
A film that immediately emanates with whimsy, dramatic flare, and the irrevocable independent film character and narrative-based execution that makes it the genre to watch for quality entertainment and perfectly grounded human stories, this 15-minute short from writer/director/producer Rahul Chaturvedi, writer Luisa Alvarez Restrepo, and producer Lina Gómez, screened as part of the 2020 ECSA: Escapist Cinema of South Asia online film festival presented by Jingo Media and sister festivals DFW SAFF and NYC SAFF, glows in its South Asian roots while providing an enchanting, witty, undeniably likable tale of one newly retired woman’s unexpected journey through food and freshly realized perspectives on her ensuing paths.
What made this so effective for this critic from the start is the deftly presented way notions of tradition, culture, societal, and familial expectation are all interwoven so as to do pure justice to said elements, yet address them in a way that freely illustrates an open-mindedness that sometimes, those things can be put aside for the sake of discovering something entirely different and, ideally, fulfilling. There is a certain rigidity to customs found in much of the South Asian world, and nothing is wrong with this. Yet, this film is willing to venture a story about one person breaking some of this, and it works brilliantly.
Again, not as some negative stab at what values we hold dear, but more again to know that as people, we’ll make mistakes, we’ll stumble over concepts that we’ve lived for countless years, because that’s what makes our existence beautifully unique–the chances for something renewed, outside our usual, to manifest and understanding that for it to cause panic is really not necessary, though in this narrative, it is delivered for some quite charming laughs at the expense of its primary protagonist. Even the negative reactions she gets from her husband are more hilarious than mean, and it is more a challenge to her to just keep trying to discover what she’s after than some direct detriment.
If anything, the wonder of it all is that Gayatri remains so undeterred in the subsequent quest that has manifested from her culinary snafu that it then branches away from food and more into the sheer acknowledgement that so much more can be awaiting her in retirement, and I felt this is also what gives the story its final bit to magnificently believable, touching, and inspiring atmosphere since we’re getting to see this all from the elder viewpoint, attitude, and frame of mind, a true statement of experienced, well-earned adulthood finding new breath, connection, and interaction. It’s genuinely captivating, and the type of tale that needs to be seen, seriously pondered, and honestly enacted on. Plus, the finale to this is simply PRICELESS. Period.
Johal puts forth such a dynamic character, one that’s both innocently flustered by a supposed mishap and likewise doggedly determined to be open to change, in her role as Gayatri, a former teacher whose stepping away from work has culminated in a perceived cultural goof while at her retirement party. At first allowing it to utterly “destroy” all sense of ease while immersing herself in a flurry of “forgiveness” pleas (a TOTAL riot here), she soon figures out that one way to resolve the situation is to dive in instead of shy away. In embarking on this road, Gayatri ends up gaining a liberating outlook on her life and what she may yet have a chance to acheive. It’s such an appealing, delightful, stirring adventure, and Johal pulls you in from beginning to end with her elegant yet fiery grace.
Primary supporting roles arrive from Harjinder Bansal as Gayatri’s husband Anil, whose demeanor towards his wife’s actions is (comedically) less than enthused, Jimmy Limb as her son Ishan, who also has a more reserved, quietly shocked reaction to his dear mother’s plight, Precious Chong as Laura, a biker whom Gayatri encounters on her outings that ends up being a key catalyst for the better, Kitty Chow and Eric Edquist as Gayatri’s former teaching co-workers (one of whom has a rather–odd–and overtly hysterical love of Indian food!), plus David Parisian as a biker associated with Laura.
In total, “Forbidden Tikka Masala” speaks deeply to its themes of convention through its premise’s foundational “mortifying defiance” of it but readily and with absolute purpose re-directs it to the more important explorations of how we choose to see our heritages and observances in a amusing, lighthearted manner while teaching that’s it’s ok to err, it’s allowable to have curiosity, to experience journeys untried, and to let it mold us further into the unique, valuable individuals we were meant to be, which nothing, including sacrilegious foodstuffs, should stand in the way of.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
