The Hindu : Karnataka News : Excellent depiction of existential crisis

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Saturday, Apr 19, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Excellent depiction of existential crisis

Mahima Chowdhury (right) in ‘Hope and A Little Sugar’

Hope and a Little Sugar (English)

Cast: Mahima Chowdhury, Anupam Kher, Amit Sayal

Director: Tanuja Chandra

Post 9/11, filmmakers across the world have been obsessed with the event. If we recently had Shoaib Mansoor talking of Muslims’ heightened sense of persecution in the U.S., this week we have Tanuja Chandra walking down the same lane.

However, 9/11 is the sole common point between the two movies both of which have had a delayed commercial release here. Tanuja’s film, set in New York, is a rare story by a Mumbai filmmaker where in a cross-religion love story it is the hero who is a Muslim and the heroine a Sikh.

Otherwise, in a queer mix of majority communalism and patriarchal order, it is the majority hero or someone claiming India to be his janambhoomi as well as punyabhoomi, who walks away with the girl.

Here, a Muslim photographer finds his muse in a Sikh widow. A little irritant of the girl’s father being opposed to Muslims becomes an existential crisis post 9/11 as the old man becomes hostile to the entire community, holding it responsible for all the ills afflicting society. That includes persecution of Sikhs too, as they were often mistaken for the Taliban. However, there are no diatribes as Tanuja adopts a kid glove approach, and the change in mindset is easier than anticipated. Give her that easier option and applaud her for making a film from her heart. Hope And A Little Sugar is a crossover cinema piece that works mainly because of the director.

Mahima Chaudhury and newcomer Amit Sayal are competent and Anupam Kher as the rabid old man, more than effective.

Z.U.S.

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