WHITE ELEPHANT SHOWS TRUE COLOURS

White Elephant shows the reality of romance for some in high school.

Zaarin Bushra as Pooja

Every year at the Reelworld Film Festival in Toronto there is always that hidden gem that audiences will never forget.  White Elephant from director Andrew C is unexpectedly unforgettable because it is groundbreaking in more ways than one.  The director who himself hails from the Markham Scarborough area wanted to show an audience what it is really like to become involved in a romance where visible minorities are the majority.  It ain’t all that bad except that it doesn’t follow the format of Hollywood rom-com films that many of us grow up to.  The iconic Romeo and Juliet film version that featured Claire Danes and Leonardo de Caprio is used as an example of serving that grand illusion of love and how much influence these type of films has on our youth.  Instead of a feud between the Capulets and the Montagues, Andrew C sets up one between the whites and the brown.

White Elephant focuses on a young girl named Pooja, played by Zaarin Bushra, who is obsessed with Hollywood films and wanting her life to be just like the film Romeo and Juliet.  She is surrounded by her friends Manpreet, played by Gurleen Singh, and Amit, played by Dulmika Hapuarachchi who try to keep her grounded while she is in this fantasy world that she envisions for herself.  She notices in the backyard of her high school that a white young boy by the name of Trevor, played by Jesse Nasmith, always comes around. She finally gains the courage to approach Trevor and his friends and awkwardly try to spark a conversation and get his phone number.  From this point on for Pooja, reality starts to sink in as her vision for a romantic world that involves a Caucasian boy becomes a nightmare.

Gurleeen Singh as Manpreet and Zaarin Bushra as Pooja

You can’t blame Hollywood for giving people hope especially young teens who are experimenting with the idea of romance, love and relationships.  You also can’t blame this industry for not showing the realities of interracial dating and nonetheless relationships.  High school is such an awkward time of trying to fit in a bubble where you can be easily bullied and Andrew C. portrays this is fine form.  There will always be struggles within your own community and with those who are not part of it as Pooja experiences in the film.

Facing the tough reality that you are part of a different race growing up in a neighborhood like Markham/Scarborough back in the mid 90s for a young girl who thinks life is like the movies is a struggle.  When Pooja’s friends start to call her whitewash because of the things she likes is heartbreaking because sometimes it is what young people like Pooja only know.  What actress Zaarin Bushra does so well in the film is portraying the beginning of Pooja’s acceptance of who she is as her fantasy world starts to crumble.  Although, one thing you can’t take away from her is her ability to dream and that shouldn’t cost a thing.