Episode 197: Meet the cast of Lifetime’s first Christmas movie about a South Asian family

This is the first time the YVR Screen Scene Podcast has dedicated an entire episode to a Christmas movie. But this isn’t your typical Christmas movie. This is a Christmas movie about an Indian-American family, and it stars a bevy of beloved South Asian Canadian stars, wearing Christmas sweaters and decking the halls like many South Asians do IRL all over the world. Baking Spirits Bright airs November 21 on Lifetime. It’s about a character named Mira Varma who (according to Lifetime) “takes pride in her family’s business of making fruitcakes, despite the decline in its popularity of once being America’s most-gifted holiday confection. When Mira’s parents decide to hire Brady Phillips and his high-powered marketing company to boost sales for the holidays, Mira must fight to hold on to the heart of the company she loves so much.”Baking Spirits Bright features Rekha Sharma as Mira Varma, Dion Johnstone as that dashing, high-powered marketing executive from the big city, Aadila Dosani as Mira’s sister, Munisha, who’d rather be vlogging about fashion than baking fruitcakes, and Praneet Akilla as their brother, who’d rather be a snowboarding coach. The film also features fantastic performances from Manoj Sood, Nimet Kanji, Reese Alexander, and Riun Garner, and was directed by Aubrey Arnason.In this highly spirited episode, host Sabrina talks Christmas movies, fruitcake, and representation with Rekha Sharma, Dion Johnstone, Praneet Akilla, and Aadila Dosani. Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment