Superfan Nav Bhatia visits Oakville for Sikh Heritage Month

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The month of April is Sikh Heritage Month across Canada, and to celebrate this year, Toronto Raptors superfan Nav Bhatia made a special appearance in Oakville on Monday night to screen the CBC documentary Superfan, about his life, and partake in a Q&A with the audience.

But there were several surprises who attended the event at Oakville's Film.Ca Cinemas: Bhatia also stayed for nearly an hour after the formal events ended to take pictures with anyone who wanted one (even letting lucky fans try on his Raptors championship ring that he was awarded in 2019) and there were multiple other guests who were in attendance for the screening and meet.

At the end of the night, Nav said to the audience, "Thank you for coming to see this [movie]. This story is about more than a basketball team - it's about all of us."

The event was hosted by Oakville-North Burlington MP Pam Damoff as an educational event for Sikh Heritage Month. Both Bhatia and film producer Rinku Ghei talked extensively in the film and Q&A about what the Sikh culture represents in Canada today and its history since Bhatia came to Canada from India in 1983.

"It’s so important to learn about the stories of Sikh Canadians," said Damoff when introducing the film," and Nav's story is the perfect documentary to do this."

In an opening scene of the film, Bhatia shared some of his personal philosophy in what it means to be not just Sikh but also a citizen of Canada today: "In order to live a good life, we must keep God in our heart at all times. It is important to live honestly, work hard, and respect all people - irrespective of colour, religion or gender."

That theme of connection, including several mentions that "we as people are not that different," is part of the core message from Bhatia's foundation that funds community projects around the Greater Toronto Area and sponsors tickets for kids of all backgrounds to attend Raptors games at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Several other recognizable local figures were in attendance: Jeff Knoll (town and regional councillor and CEO of Film.Ca Cinemas) and Michael "Pinball" Clemons (longtime player and now general manager of the Toronto Argonauts football club). Clemons was also featured in the documentary.

"I've known Nav a long tome," said Clemons to Oakville News. "His generous spirit is palpable. You can feel it when you’re around him." Clemons recounted a story on how Bhatia intentionally took losses when operating his car dealership in Mississauga in order to keep his full staff employed through a recession. Clemons ended by saying, "Nav is a phenomenal businessman, but he's an even better person."

Their friendship is perhaps best described by the excited hug they shared when they first saw each other across the cinema lobby. Nav, in return, commented on Clemons' legacy as both an athlete and steward of the community, saying, "Michael’s story is the one that inspired me - he’s one the best human beings."

Spending time with other super fans

One of the highlights of the night was Nav allowing fans in attendance the chance to wear his championship ring from the Raptors' 2019 NBA Championship victory. The ring Nav was given by the team, studded with 654 diamonds, is the first (and so far only) time a non-player of any team has been given the honour.

"I have no business having this ring," said Bhatia, both in the documentary and in his interview with Oakville News. "I accepted the ring on behalf of all the fans. Now I want to give every fan an opportunity to wear the ring, because it belongs to all of us."

Since receiving the ring two and a half years ago, Bhatia says nearly 20,000 fans that he's met have tried on the ring. (At the end of our interview, he offered to let this reporter try the ring on for himself and take a picture for his personal photo album.)

One of the lucky fans who got to wear the rings was 8-year-old Hunter Hall from Burlington, a basketball fan who also plays on the Burlington Ballers team.

How does it feel wearing the biggest rings ever designed for an NBA champion? "It was heavy," said Hall while laughing. "It was cool to meet Nav for real."

Also in attendance for the screening and Q&A was film producer and Bhatia's friend Rinku Ghei, who talked about the challenges of editing Nav's story for the documentary.

"We wanted to talk about the reason of why he got caught up in the Raptors," says Ghei. "It started as a hobby but it turned into a cause. It’s the story of a guy who now belongs; that's what everyone aspires to."

After ten months of editing the movie, Ghei says "It’s incredible to see it on a big screen." He says it was hard to put five years of footage and events into just under an hour, but "I think the reaction is great. We achieved the message that it’s about more than the Raptors."

Also with Bhatia was his adult daughter Tia, also featured in the documentary. She's seen it several times now (including for the first time before her Dad saw the final cut!) but "I get emotional every single time I watch it."

"I look up at the screen and see my Dad’s hard work and success," continues Tia Bhatia. "We don’t talk about it that much at home, because it's just us spending time as a family. But seeing his accomplishments brings me to tears. That’s one of the best feelings ever."

Summarizing the night, Jeff Knoll added, "It's wonderful to be able to welcome a significant leader member of the Sikh community for people to come and meet, and I'm thrilled we were able to partner with MP Damoff to bring Nav's story to Oakville. He is truly an inspiring community leader and we're honoured he made to time to come and present his movie in person for us."

To end the night, one of Nav's fans asked him who his all-time favourite player on the team was. His answer?

"It’s not about the player's statistics or the best dunks. Yes they’re athletes, but for me it's about the players who reaches out to the young kids and inspires them."

The documentary Superfan: The Nav Bhatia Story is now streaming for free on CBC Gem.

More information about the Nav Bhatia Superfan foundation can be found online here.

Oakville News extends special thanks to all those who agreed to be interviewed for this story.