Month: June 2019

Jazzy B, Nikhita Gandhi, Yasser Desai, and others to perform at free outdoor concerts across the Greater Toronto Area, July’19

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Jazzy B, the King of Bhangra and his band, will headline Vibrant Brampton Festival’s free outdoor concert, Sunday, July 28 at the Garden Square. Photo: Vibrant Brampton Festival

Happy Canada Day! Here’s your South Asian event calendar for July’19

Monday, July 1

Event: Canada Day

Details: Dancing Damsels Inc. will be hosting a Canada Day celebration at the Albert Campbell Square, 150 Borough Dr. Scarborough from 5-8 p.m. This free event will include participation from Canada’s truly multicultural cauldron.
Contact: For more information visit here

Tuesday, July 2-6

Event: Toronto International Dance Festival Workshops

Details: A series of dance workshops in preparation of the Toronto International Dance Festival will take place at the Albert Campbell Square, 150 Borough Dr. in Scarborough. Participants will be introduced to different dance forms by different instructors.
Contact: For information about the workshop, contact here

Thursday, July 4

Event: Rath Yatra

Details: A Lord Jagannath Dev’s Rath Yatra will take place at the Bangladesh Canada Hindu Mandir, 16 Dohme Ave. East York at 7:30 p.m.
Contact: For more information, contact here

Saturday, July, 6

Event: Tabla recital

Details: Toronto Tabla Ensemble will present the 2019 Student Recital at the Westedge Community Church, 157 Lakeshore Rd. W. at 6 p.m. The concert will feature performances by students from across the GTA. Cost of tickets is $20/person.
Contact: For more information visit here

Event: Standup by Kanan Gill
Details: Kanan Gill, a well-known comic will perform at the Ryerson Theatre, 43 Gerrard St. E, at 7 p.m. as part of his solo show Teetar.
Contact: For tickets and more visit here

Saturday, July 13-14

Event: Festival of India

Details: Toronto’s 47th Annual Festival of India will launch with a spectacular parade that will cruise down Yonge Street, beginning at Yonge & Bloor, and make its way down to the lake. During the parade, three ornate, 40-foot tall floats will be hand-pulled by participants amidst ecstatic singing, drumming, and dancing creating a wondrous, carnival-like atmosphere.
Contact: For information about the festival, visit here

Event: Festival of South Asia

Details: Gerrard St. E. between Glenside and Coxwell Avenues is “Little India.” On July 13-14, the streets will come alive for the Festival of South Asia, a multi-disciplinary arts and food festival showcasing a slice of South Asian culture. Festivities run from noon to 11 p.m. on both the days. Contact: For more details visit here

Monday, July 15 – 28

Event: Visual Arts of South Asia Festival

Details: V.A.S.A. – Arts Festival and exhibition’s aim is to introduce the unique flavour of South Asian art with an underlying objective of bringing together Canadian artists from different cultures. The event showcases South Asian culture as it evolves in this country and integrates with Canadian values. The exhibition will take place at Beaux-Arts Brampton, 70 Main St. N. Opening reception is taking place on July 18 from 6-9 p.m.
Contact: For gallery, hours visit here

Monday, July 15-18

Event: Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi) in Toronto

Details: She’s known as the “hugging saint” and she will be at the Delta Hotel by Marriott- Toronto Airport, 655 Dixon Rd. Toronto, ON M9W 1J3. There are morning as well as evening programs, retreats, and Devi Bhava.
Contact: For more information visit here

Thursday, July 18-20

Event: Bollywood MonsterMashup

Details: This three-day family event is a celebration of all things music and Bollywood and its influence in Canada. On Thursday, the popular festival will kick-off the #BollywoodMonster launch party & comedy night showcasing a lineup of hilarious standup comedy acts and a silent disco. This is a by-invite-only event.

The public can take in two free concerts at Celebration Square in Mississauga July 19-20. This year’s performers are Bollywood crooners Nikhita Gandhi and Yasser Desai. Nikhita (“Qaafirana” from the movie Kedarnath) will perform Friday, July 19, whereas Yasser (‘Naino ne baandhi” from Gold) will take the stage, Saturday (July 20).
Contact: For more details visit here

Saturday, July 27-28

Event: Vibrant Brampton

Details: Organized by the non-profit group Arts and Culture Initiative of South Asia (ACISA,) the 4th annual Vibrant Brampton will bring two fun-filled days of music and dance. On Saturday, you may want to head to the Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln. in Brampton at 6 p.m. to listen to the Indian Idol winner Sreerama Chandra. Sunday’s outdoor concert bring Jazzy B to the Garden Square in Brampton.
Contact: For more details visit here

Toronto’s 47th Festival of India (Rath Yatra) will take place July 13-14.

‘Why this Kolaveri Di’ actor Dhanush will test international waters in The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir

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The film based on Romain Puértolas’ best-selling novel, The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe, will hit the theatres in Canada, June 21.

South Indian actor Dhanush’s upcoming film, The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir, directed by Ken Scott, a Canadian filmmaker will hit the theatres in Canada including a few across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), June 21. Photo: Golden Ratio Films

South Indian superstar Dhanush plays Ajatashatru Lavash Patel or Aja in the soon-to-be-released, The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir.
Directed by Canadian filmmaker Ken Scott and co-produced by France, India, and Belgium, the film also features Berenice Bejo, Barkhad Abdi, Erin Moriarty, and Abel Jafri as well as Gérard Jugnot, Ben Miller, Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse, and Stefano Cassetti.

Distributors A-Z Films will release the much-anticipated film in theatres across Canada, June 21.

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir won the audience award for “Best Comedy” at the Barcelona Sant-Jordi International Film Festival recently and was part of the 2019 IFFSA Toronto.

Scott adapted the film from Romain Puértolas’ best-selling novel, The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe.

 In The Extraordinary Journey, Dhanush plays a goofy street hustler from Mumbai who embarks on an extraordinary voyage across Europe in search of his estranged father.

During the sojourn, he finds love in a Swedish furniture store in Paris, but danger ensues when he also finds trouble with Somalian migrants. Though other twists and turns, Aja ends up in London and stumbles upon some fortune in Rome.

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir by Canadian filmmaker Ken Scott features Indian superstar Dhanush. The film will be distributed by A-Z Films will be in theatres June 21. Photo: Golden Ratio Films.

“This film is a universal story that is a joy ride for every member of the family,” says A-Z Film’s Antoine Zeind. “Director Ken Scott has done a remarkable job bringing together many parts of the world and mixing in plenty of emotion through laughs, storytelling, and social commentary. I know Canadians will be very taken by The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir and I’m excited to bring this adventure to them.”

Here’s a bit of Dhanush trivia:

  • His first film was Thulluvadho Ilamai, a 2002 coming-of-age film was directed by his father, Kasthuri Raja.
  • Dhanush has starred in over 25 films and received the “Best Actor” award at the 58th National Film Awards for his performance in Aadukalam (2010).
  • In 2011, Dhanush received international attention for his song Why this Kolaveri Di

Read on as Dhanush speaks candidly to his fans and audiences about:

The screenplay


“It had a fantastic message to send out to the world, combined with irresistible humor. It was also the promise of a journey I hadn’t yet dared to take in my career. You rarely get the chance of being offered a role like that.”

On his character Aja

“He is a street magician. He is charming and can get out of sticky situations most of the time. But he is also a character who most viewers can identify with because he is truly philosophical about life – and doesn’t hesitate to take off on a mind-blowing adventure.”

Tamil superstar Dhanush (r) seen here with Canadian filmmaker Ken Scott during the making of the upcoming film, “The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir,” which will hit the theatres in Canada, June 21. Photo: Golden Ratio Films.

Film’s director Ken Scott

“He is an extremely pleasant director and at the same time, he has a very clear vision of what he wants. It’s fantastic to be directed by someone who knows how to take you exactly where he wants you to go, yet allows you to make the character your own. He encourages real teamwork; with him, I felt like we were building scenes together, getting inspiration from both his approach and mine. I learned a lot with him.”

Work method

“I didn’t have time to do readings or rehearsals, but in retrospect, I’m really happy about that. Because I was able to keep a certain freshness and spontaneity that I wouldn’t necessarily have had if we had rehearsed.”

Dancing

“It’s an art that is an integral part of Indian culture. I’ve done more than thirty films in India, and in most of them, I had dance scenes. Since I’m used to dancing on a regular basis, I didn’t really need to do any preparation for that.”

A different world

“Probably the most difficult thing for me was adapting to a world so radically different from what I am used to. I had to get accustomed to different work methods and a different shooting style. During the first week, it was pretty tough for me, but after that, I really had a blast!”

 You can check out a couple of tracks from the film including Jaadu Ka Pitaara and #Madaari song sung by Vishal Dadlani and Nikhita Gandhi and music by Amit Trivedi at https://youtu.be/-UPuJATvHmc.