Tanuja Chandra's Hope and A Little Sugar is a very poignant tale of love and trust set against the 9/11 catastrophe and the atmosphere of mistrust and hatred that prevailed against certain communities at that time. The film was declared the best feature film at the South Asian film festival held in New York. Khuda Kay Liye, the Pakistani film, which is currently running in India, also takes a look at the same subject, but from a different perspective. However, Hope and A Little Sugar seems to be a very simplistic take on the entire issue, which turns out to be its biggest flaw.
Through the film, Chandra raises the banner of love and hope in times of hatred and mistrust. The premise is wonderful and the message is one which is much needed in a world divided along the lines of race and religion. But she stumbles and falls when it comes to the treatment. There is no attempt by Chandra to explore the complexities that are inherent in the script. So, ultimately, the love and hope bit seems very forced and sudden, thereby revealing the immaturity of the script and plot.
The film's story is about Saloni (Mahima Chaowdhury), who runs a sweet shop in New York called Hope and A Little Sugar, because she feels that there is nothing in the world that cannot be handled with hope and a little sugar. Sophia lives with her husband Harry (Vikram Chatwal), and in laws, Colonel Oberoi, (Anupam Kher) and his wife, played by Suhasini Mulay. Colonel Oberoi, a Sikh, who was part of the Indian Army during the Bangladesh war. Saloni bumps into budding photographer cum bike messenger Ali Siddique (Amit Sial) and mistakes him to be an old family friend. Since it is love at first sight for Ali, he does not bother to correct her mistake. Instead he accepts her invitation to attend a party being thrown by her in laws. He meets her in laws and Harry. They all seem to take to him, which suits his purpose as it makes it convenient for him to be around Saloni. His real identity is revealed soon enough and the family still accepts him as Ali, except for the Colonel, who has a problem with him being a Muslim. Ali becomes a good friend of Harry and Saloni. Then 9/11 happens and Harry is one of the thousands who loses his life in that blast. The family is shattered but the Colonel refuses to accept that his son may be dead. He clings tenuously to his belief that Harry would come back. He shuts himself off emotionally from his grieving wife and daugher in law. The only emotion that consumes him is that of hatred. Ali, unfortunately becomes a target of all his pent up anger. The Colonel happens to also spot Ali with Saloni, and is unable to accept their closeness. He goes out to have it out with Ali, armed with a gun, but is intercepted by a gang of Americans who mistake him to be a Muslim and beat him up. In hospital, the Colonel realizes that he is doing to Ali exactly what those Americans did to him. Neither he nor Ali are responsible for 9/11. Having realized how unjust he was to Ali, he makes his peace with him and also with the fact that his daughter in law has the right to get on with her life. He lets go off the past and makes his way back to India with his wife, a much sadder and wiser man. Ali and Saloni are left behind to carve out their own life.
It's the immaturity which mars what could have been a touching film on love and hope. Everything happens too fast without sufficient groundwork. A couple of months after her husband's death, Sophia is seen frolicking around with Ali. Her grief is never properly dealt with. Her feelings for Ali remain ambiguous. Even though she never sides with either the Colonel or Ali, one never hears her views on the subject. There is no conflict, which she goes through. The character of Ali too has not been very well etched. A few people call him a murderer post 9/11 and he instantly trades in his camera for a gun. There are certain flashbacks of Ali as a child, witnessing a communal riot and the death of a friend. But somehow it does not seem motivation enough. The only two characters which have been portrayed with a degree of maturity are those that of the Colonel and his wife. Both Kher and Suhasini are seasoned actors and have been able to rise above the script. The film, actually belongs to Kher. The actor superbly portrays the role of the Colonel, with his pent up hatred and anger over a certain community as he battles against accepting the reality of his son's death. His hatred is almost palpable. Suhasini also turns in a very good performance as his wife, unable to understand how to reach out to reach out to her husband. In a role which has been poorly sketched, Mahima can do little but smile and shed a few tears along the way as the script gives her little scope to act. Amit Sial also suffers from the same handicap. Even though the script does not give him scope to do much, he pulls off a moving performance. Actor Ranjit Chowdhury, who was quite a favourite with director Basu Chatterjee, is wasted in the role of Mr Ghosh, the Colonel's friend. Vikram Chatwal, as Harry, is there for just about two and half scenes.
Having heard and read a lot about the film, one is disappointed as it fails to live up to expectations. One would have expected a more moving drama from Tanuja Chandra. Immature handling, one feels, mars what could have been a powerful film.
