Wanted to know how trauma gets passed on: 'Calorie' director on 1985 Air India bombing

Mumbai, Dec 16 (PTI) "Calorie" is a deeply personal film, says director Eisha Marjara, who wanted to explore themes of intergenerational trauma through the story of a Sikh Indo-Canadian family living through the shadow of a tragedy.

The film, which had its international premiere at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) last month, follows the story of Monika (Ellora Patnaik), a single mother of a Sikh Canadian family who sends her two daughters Alia (Shanaya Dhillon-Birmhan) and Simi (Ashley Ganger) on a trip to India to visit family and reconnect with their Punjabi heritage.

But during their stay, Alia and Simi get to know that their grandmother was one of the victims of the 1985 Air India flight bombing, which was linked to militant Sikh separatists. They were led to believe that their grandmother had died in a car accident.

Marjara has drawn a lot from her own story for the film. Her mother and younger sister boarded Air India flight 182 from Montreal in 1985, which exploded mid-air killing all the passengers.

"The initial impulse of making this film was about bringing context to the Air India bombing, making sure that I don't villainise the community by speaking about it as a terrorist attack and not looking at the whole picture. I was curious about how when something big, tragic happens, whether it's the Air India bombing or any political or violent event, how it impacts the next generation.

"Like, how does it get passed down and dealt with? And if it doesn't get dealt with in one generation, how does it trickle-down generations? So, that was a question I had,” the director told PTI in an interview.

"Calorie" also features veteran actors Anupam Kher and Dolly Ahluwalia in key roles that emphasise familial bonds amidst sorrow.

Marjana said the film is largely fictionalised, except its backdrop of the bombing, and added that she has tried to unpack themes of tragedy, loss, family dynamics, and the misunderstandings that often linger on.

The director, who was supposed to be on that ill-fated aircraft, acknowledges that her work serves as an outlet for her own emotions and experiences.

"I dealt with it (trauma) through art, photography, filmmaking, and by journaling, but mostly through my profession, which is making movies. So, it's just a self-indulgent act, the cliche of artist therapy. I've had people tell me how this film has been healing for them, and that's incredibly rewarding for a filmmaker,” the director, known for documentary, “Desperately Seeking Helen”, and “Am I the Skinniest Person You’ve Ever Seen?”, said.

Describing the writing process for “Calorie” as “long and complex”, Marjara said it was “important” to contextualise the tragedy without being “heavy handed”.

"It's very easy to label it as a terrorist attack. The bombing itself and not look at, not zoom out and look at what are the events that led to it and how it implicated different communities in the South Asian diaspora,” she said, adding, there are multiple tragedies taking place in this film.

“Initially, this was going to be Alia's coming of age story and not Monica's. Then I shifted the focus to Monica because it talked more about the political background and the Air India bombing and that history in 1984, in the 1980s,” the director said.

The film has been shot both in India and Canada and Marjara fondly recalls her formative years spent in Amritsar with her cousins.

"I would stay at my grandmother's house on my mother's side for the summer. I didn't know the culture. It was all very new to me, getting salwar kameez tailor made for me. We had a set routine of going to the Golden Temple in the evenings and later enjoying street snacks from chaat to golgappa,” she said.

When asked if she felt emotional while directing, Marjara said she was “stable” primarily because she has already processed emotions of grief and loss.

"I could really appreciate making the film and being a director and just enjoying the process of working on the film,” she said.

"Calorie” features Kher and Ahluwalia as Mohan and Gurdeep, the great-uncle and great-aunt who host the girls on the trip, and the director said, working with Indian actors for the first time in her career turned out to be a great collaborative experience.

"Dolly brought so much charm, warmth and humour to the character. Her sense of comic timing is impeccable. Besides, she had so many ideas that she brought that were not in the script. So, there's a lot of improvisation that happens.

I've seen Anupam ji in numerous films, but mostly Western films. I remember him from 'Bend It Like Beckham', where he played a Sikh, and I had no doubt that he could embody this character, this great uncle, who's benevolent, warm, funny, character, who embraces girls,” she added.

As for the film's release in India, producer Joe Balass, Compass Productions, said they intend to bring “Calorie” to Indian and international audiences following its Canadian theatrical release last month.

"When Eisha first shared ‘Calorie’ with me, I connected instantly. It's a bittersweet look at mother–daughter relationships and the longing for forgiveness speaks to all of us. In a polarized world, the film offers a fresh, deeply human perspective,” he said. PTI KKP BK BK