Breakaway

Breakaway is a cross-cultural hockey drama set in the Indo-Canadian community in suburban Toronto, Canada. It’s also a keenly observed cross-cultural drama with a hero caught between a family’s traditional expectations and a dream to make it big in the national sport of an adopted country. Breakaway is a fun, action-filled sports comedy bringing a dash of Bollywood entertainment to Canada’s favourite sport.
Raised as a traditional Sikh, Rajveer was forbidden as a boy to cut his hair... and had to wear a turban, this stopped him from playing hockey, the game he loved. In his early teens, forsaking his family's religious traditions and beliefs, he removed his turban and cut his hair so he'd be more accepted within his country. His goal was to succeed in a traditional white man's sport, but this conflicted with his father's wish that he'd devote his life to his religion and the family business.
Unable to find a foothold in the game, Rajveer takes matters into his own hands by creating an all Indian hockey team (The Speedy Singhs), finding a coach and then bringing on his Uncle Sammy's trucking company as the team sponsor, doing all this behind his father's back. Along the way to the championship game, he is faced with the questions he had not wanted to address: family, friendship, loyalty and identity. And until he can answer these questions, the podium will always be out to his reach.
Release dateSeptember 30, 2011
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A young Sikh-Canadian man (Vinay Virmani) dreams of hockey stardom but first he has to assemble a team to beat the local bullies, while romancing the coach's daughter (Camilla Bell). Lieberman's fable is a classic cross-cultural story, with dashes of humour courtesy of Russell Peters.

Programmer's Note

A love story full of surprises, Breakaway stands in a now-rich tradition of cross-cultural Canadian stories. Funny, inspiring and full of hope, this is a romantic comedy for right here and now. It’s also got its share of spice, courtesy of pop icons Akshay Kumar, Drake and Russell Peters. But before everything, it has hockey.

Rajveer Singh (an impressive debut from Vinay Virmani) grew up in a loving Sikh-Canadian home in suburban Toronto, but still chafes against the traditional views of his father (Anupam Kher, terrific as always). Raj works for his uncle’s trucking company, but what he really wants to do is play hockey. He even cut his hair — an act forbidden to devout Sikhs — in an effort to look more “Canadian.” But when Raj tries out for the local Hammerheads, they won’t have him. So he corrals his Punjabi buddies to form a team of their own. Problem is, they’re terrible. Enter coach Dan Winters (Rob Lowe, who once starred in his own hockey movie, Youngblood). Winters can barely pronounce his players’ names, but he likes the idea of an underdog team going up against those arrogant Hammerhead bullies.

If Bend It Like Beckham springs to mind, you’re not far off. Director Robert Lieberman keeps Breakaway bubbling with a mix of immigrant angst and smart comedy, while stand-up superstar Peters delivers perfectly timed riffs as an interloper into Raj’s family. And because the story wouldn’t be complete without romance, coach Winters happens to have a daughter (Camilla Belle), who is as beautiful as she is elusive. Raj’s attempts to win her heart inspire the film’s one big musical number, a glorious fantasy on ice.

By the time the bruising Hammerheads square off against Rajveer and his Speedy Singhs for the big championship, all the pieces are in place for rousing entertainment. But if the romance, the comedy and the cameos from Bollywood hero Akshay Kumar and hip-hop star Drake make Breakaway fun, its cultural resonance will makes it last. This rom-com is anchored in the deeply felt pride that Raj and his family feel in their culture and faith. That may be the most Canadian thing about it.
Cameron Bailey