Rogers Masala! Mehndi! Masti!
Celebrated its 7^th explosive year!!

Rahul Bose Actor (centre) with (left) Abhishek Mathur MMM Festival Director 
and Jyoti Rana (right) Festival Creative Director

Masala! Mehndi! Masti! (M!M!M!) once again showcased the best in contemporary, traditional and fusion South Asian culture with performances and presentations by local and international artists.

The internationally acclaimed and inspiring festival opened Friday July 27^th with MP Dr Ruby Dhalla inaugurating the festival and special guest Actor/Director, Rahul Bose, the ‘alternative’ Bollywood superstar. 

Rahul charmed audiences with his warm personality and sincerity. When addressing the audience Rahul said he was amazed that such a massive festival has been created and is FREE to all to attend. MMMovies! Masala! Mehndi! Masti!’s very own film festival featuring the Rahul Bose Retrospective was launched at M!M!M!’s Opening Reception where Rahul Bose walked the Red Carpet with Much Music’s VJ, Hannah Simone, Shauna MacDonald, Canadian Television and film actress and radio announcer, members of the Toronto International Film Festival, Artists, Media, Organizers and Sponsors. 

With Rahul in attendance on all three days, audiences had the chance to get intimate with him and learned about his childhood days in his In Conversation with Cameron Bailey.

Superlative rock band, Indian Ocean, flew in from India to headline the Mainstage on Friday night and had the crowd up and dancing, mesmerized by the band’s unforgettable and electrifying stage performance. True international artists, the band performed for 2 hours, presenting music that ranged from rock to sufi qawwali style music.

A multitude of events in music, dance, theatre, visual arts, literary arts, MMMovies!, and more joined by provocative panels, exotic market vendors and succulent South Asian dishes, created this one of its kind festival!

Other special guests in attendance this year were Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, Leader of Official Opposition Party, John Tory, Ontario Minister of Education, Kathleen Wynn, and MPP Bas Balkisson. All came to give their support to South Asian Arts and Culture.

In addition to the usual features over the last years, like music, dance, theatre, seminars on social issues, restaurants and bazaar, the new highlights of this year:

The First Annual Masala! Mehndi! Masti! PEOPLES’ CHOICE AWARDS 
Literary Award:  July 28 & 29: MMM Writers Café co-presented by DesiLit

MMM Artists Walkway

were very well received.

The hard work and dedication of the eager group of volunteers contributed to the festival's
huge success.

Rogers Masala! Mehndi! Masti! is co-presented by OMNI Diversity TV. The festival is produced by Satya Arts Association. Gold Sponsor State Farm Insurance and is generously supported by Exhibition Place, Magic Feet Canada, Toronto Star, General Motors, Pantene, Scotia bank.

Previous Coverage

July 2007 issue

Masala! Mehndi! Masti! 2006

M! M! M!’s 5th anniversary celebrations

MMM: Celebrating 5000 years of South Asian culture