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Beeba Boys next up in Canadiana film series

Controversial film to be shown Friday, March 9th, at 7 p.m.
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The Beeba Boys is the next film to be shown in the Canadiana series put on by the Williams Lake Film Club. The film, based on actual facts and events that happened in Vancouver, will be playing this coming Friday, March 9th, at 7 p.m. Submitted photo

The next film in our Canadiana Series will be shown this coming Friday, March 9, at 7 p.m. at the Central Cariboo Arts Centre. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

It is a gangster film, a crime thriller, something you don’t find much in English language Canadian films, certainly not of this calibre. Beeba Boys was directed by Oscar nominated Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta, starring in its main role well-known Bollywood actor Randeep Hooda as brooding, dangerous and charismatic Jeet Johar. It was shot in Vancouver and is based on actual facts and events from Vancouver. Indoor scenes were done in Toronto. It runs for 103 minutes and is rated 14A.

Beeba Boys actually means Good Boys, but what we see is a ferocious, adrenaline-charged Indo-Canadian gang war, and a violent clash of culture and crime. These gang wars have taken more than 150 lives of young Indo-Canadian men since the 1990s. As former B.C. premier Ujjal Dosanjih told the Globe and Mail: “It’s a very brutally honest depiction of a brutal disease that afflicts B.C., and some of it is in the Indo-Canadian community. Honesty offends. It hurts. It provides insights and provides hurts.”

Through the media we have become quite used to reports of drive-by shootings and of killings of victims with Indo-Canadian names. We just nod our heads and say — Oh well, you know. But we really don’t know. That’s where Beeba Boys comes in. It provides us a glimpse into the flamboyant outside world of these gangs, peacock coloured suits, fabulous cars, glamorous homes – and it provides us a look behind this flashy scene. Here we see insecurity, hate, racism, even sadness.

I don’t think Deepa Metha ever has made a film which was not hotly discussed and received some nasty credits. This certainly rings true again with Beeba Boys. Members of the Vancouver Police have voiced their criticism stating that the film seems devoid of positive South Asian role models, devoid of community disapproval of the Beeba Boys. That is looks too glamorous and might attract young people to follow this life style.

And what does Deepa Metha herself say about her film? She said: “It gets tiring , and you end up trying to justify your own film. I happen to like my work. I own it. It is what it is. If you don’t like it, as Jeet says — Kiss my chittars.”

She was prepared for a lively debate about Beeba Boys, but she also has moved on. She has acquired film rights to Kahleen Winter’s 2010 debut novel Annabel about a Newfoundland hermaphrodite.

After the film refreshments will be available for free, tea, hot chocolate, even Ovaltine, and an assortment of cookies, in this case cookies from India. Do you have some cookies you would like to share? Admission at the door is $10 for adults, $8 for Film Club members, and $6 for seniors (65+) and students, both high school and TRU. Proceeds are being used to support one-on-one tutoring for students with learning problems.