Calorie: Trauma that spills over
Set in the U.S. and Punjab (India), Calorie is a film about a Punjabi-Canadian woman, Monika, who is forced to send her Westernized daughters to Amritsar on their own when a work project forces her to cancel her trip. Directed by Eisha Marjara, the story takes a close look at intergenerational trauma in the light of a major historical event – the bombing of Air India flight 182 – considered one of the worst aviation disasters in Canadian history. Marjara has a personal connection to this tragedy; her mother and sister were killed on this flight. Marjara was supposed to be on this flight as well, but she couldn’t join them as she was being treated for anorexia.
A personal strife
Marjara draws heavily from her own life for the film. Monika (played by Ellora Pattnaik) is a single mother with two daughters, Simi (Ashley Ganger) and Alia (Shanaya Dhillon-Birmhan). Simi is a rebellious teenager who wants to use the first opportunity she gets to move out of her mother’s home to live with her boyfriend. She is ambitious and wants to make a career in music. Alia is relatively reserved and loves to write. She suffers from an eating disorder and carefully counts the calories she consumes. In India, Simi and Alia find themselves discovering Amritsar and enjoying themselves despite their initial apprehensions. Alia forms a close bond with Monika’s uncle, Mohan (Anupam Kher). Award-winning actor and costume designer Dolly Ahluwalia plays Mohan’s wife.
Of mothers & daughters
At its heart, Calorie is the story of mothers and daughters. Monika still has unresolved trauma about losing her mother, while Simi and Alia see their mom as a guardrail standing in between them and their dreams. The climax of the film focuses heavily on Monika understanding her mother’s decisions better and coming to terms with her own parenting and love for her daughters.
Calorie is one of those films that forces audiences to think about the impact of historical tragedies and how it shapes lives decades after the event. The film veers away from any political messaging, but showcases the trauma of Sikhs affected by Operation Blue Star, and the trauma of those who lost family members on Air India 182 (the Kanishka bombing) – without taking sides or sparking a political debate. Calorie focuses primarily on the trauma both sets of families are processing because of political and historical events — Mohan, who suffered because of Operation Blue Star and is now processing the loss of his sister, and Monika, who is coming to terms with her identity as a Canadian Sikh woman who didn’t choose to be part of a political movement, but had to grapple with its consequences.
Lost threads
Calorie falls short in exploring and expanding some storylines. For example, Simi forms a strong bond with a gay Sikh man in Amritsar, but we see little of this character after one scene. Alia’s eating disorder (which has led to the name of the film) seems like a surface-level exploration and makes one wonder if Calorie could do with a different title.
Ellora Pattnaik shines as Monika and Anupam Kher plays Mohan with remarkable restraint and accuracy.
Calorie recently screened at Silicon Valley’s Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival.
