Hope and a Little Sugar

Hope and a Little Sugar is a 2006 Indian English-language drama film directed by Tanuja Chandra, starring Anupam Kher, Mahima Chaudhry, Vikram Chatwal, Amit Sial, and Suhasini Mulay. It was shot in New York City and premiered on 6 October 2006 at the South Asian International Film Festival in New York. In addition, it was the opening film in 2008 for the Opening Night Gala at BAFTA, sponsored by the London Asian Film Festival by Tongues on Fire.

Plot

Ali is a photographer and bike messenger who lives in New York. He develops a friendship and falls in love with a married woman, Saloni Oberoi. When her husband, Harry Oberoi, is killed during the September 11 attacks, Harry's father, a retired Colonel, begins to take his aggressions out on Ali for being a Muslim. Although Mrs. Oberoi tries to stop the Colonel's behavior, the situation escalates as the Colonel, himself, becomes the target of social post-9/11 aggression directed towards him because he is a Sikh.

Cast

Anupam Kher as Colonel Oberoi
Mahima Chaudhry as Saloni Oberoi
Vikram Chatwal as Harry Oberoi
Amit Sial as Ali Siddiqui
Suhasini Mulay as Mrs. Oberoi
Meghna Malik as Ali's mother

Production

The film was shot in 2004 but was delayed due to "an exhaustive post-production exchange" between director Chandra and independent American producers—Scott Pardo and Glenn Russow. This included pre and post-production that was entirely done via the internet. Pre-production took over two months where Chandra "finalised the cast, locations and even set design sitting in Mumbai." The entire cast and crew consisted of 25 people, and the film was shot entirely in New York over a period of 25 days.