Dear Jassi
Dear Jassi is a 2023 Punjabi-language romantic drama film written and directed by Tarsem Singh Dhandwar, centering on a forbidden love affair in Punjab that culminates in an honor killing.[1]The story follows Jassi, a Canadian-born Punjabi woman visiting her family's homeland in 1996, who develops an intense attraction to Mithu, a rickshaw driver from a lower socioeconomic background, defying rigid caste and familial norms that prioritize arranged marriages and social status.[2]
Inspired by the 2000 murder of Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu, an Indo-Canadian woman killed by relatives after eloping with a man they deemed unsuitable, the film highlights the lethal enforcement of cultural expectations around family honor in certain communities.[3][4]
Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2023, Dear Jassi received the Platform Prize for the best film in TIFF's Platform program, recognizing its bold narrative and visual style amid limited theatrical distribution focused on festivals.[5][6]