Dear Jassi

Tarsem Singh Dhandwar’s first story set in India tells the true-life Romeo and Juliet tale of a young couple who are desperate to be together but are kept apart by time, distance, and familial expectations.

In the ’90s, on a trip to visit her extended family in Jagraon, Jassi (Pavia Sidhu) meets Mithu (Yugam Sood), a sweet rickshaw driver who lives down the street. She quickly falls for him, but their time is cut short as Jassi is expected to return with her mother to their home in Canada. The sweethearts begin exchanging love letters, and Mithu starts making travel plans. But when Jassi sees her family lash out at one of her cousin’s suitors, she realizes there’s no easy way to pursue their relationship. As their romance continues, we become so invested in their sincere and intimate love story that it’s easy to forget what terrifying consequences could await them.

After eight years away from the big screen, Tarsem’s latest film marks a new chapter in an already wide-ranging oeuvre, which includes his illustrious epic The Fall (TIFF ’06). Both a true work of art and an unblinking chronicle of continuing injustice, Dear Jassi demonstrates immense storytelling talent and filmmaking rigour while capturing the brutality that lies on the other side of a beautiful sunset, if you’re brave enough to turn the camera.

ROBYN CITIZEN

Official Selection, 2023 Toronto International Film Festival

Content advisory: mature themes; violence; frightening scenes; sexual violence