A tragic tale retold

Described as the most gruesome mass murder in Canadian history, Air India 182, a film by Sturla Gunnarsson captures exactly how and what the families of the victims of Kanishka flight, that was bound to Delhi from Montreal, went through after it was bombed at an altitude of 31,000 feet in 1985. The trial was termed as one of the most expensive cases in Canada which lasted about twenty three years.Director and producer Sturla describes to Bangalore reporters about his trials, tribulations and experiences while making the movie. He is here for BIFFes 2011 where his movie is being screened. He spoke to media at a press conference held at Vartha Soudha on Tuesday. Along with him were Barbara Sass, a Polish film-maker and James P Mimikos who has contributed to the Retrospective Theo Angelopoulos. Sturla labels it a ‘factual’ movie, which was bound to be made by someone since it left thousands of people  traumatised by the incident. He says, “The government of Canada saw it as a foreign tragedy and was in denial mode. It held the Government of India responsible for the incident. Although there were wired tapes available and an action could be taken to prevent the act, it did not happen. It was a travesty after the bombing.”Ask him what the reaction of the government of Canada was, he says, “It was slow and shameful.” Ask him how his audience reacted to the film and he says, “It was public mourning. The young Sikhs did not know about the tragedy or the Khalistan movement. They too were ashamed. The Khalistanis also denied their involvement in the tragedy.” To get Indian characters to play the roles was a tough task, he says. “Sikh people are a respected community in Canada. They thought that this film was against their community and most of them were not ready to talk to me. But then, my co-producer knew Punjabi and she helped me to get talking with the affected families. I gathered incredible information from them. Inderjit Singh Reyat who plays the role of Gurpreet Chana, first agreed to do it. So, he was followed by the others,” he explains. Sturla Gunnarsson not only makes documentary films, but is also a feature film maker. He has films like Beowulf and Grendel, Force of Nature, Such a Long Journey and Gerrie and Louise to his credits.