Set
in
New
York
in
the
weeks
before
and
after
9/11,
this
poignant
tale
of
love
set
against
the
forces
of
hate
and
intolerance
centers
on
the
romance
between
an
aspiring
Muslim
photographer
and
a
young
Sikh
woman.
Bike
messenger,
Ali
Siddiqui
(Amit
Sial,
debutant)
meets
the
beautiful
but
married
Saloni
(anupam
kher,hope
and
a
little
sugar,mahie
gill,)
a
charismatic
mithaai
shop
owner
who
encourages
Ali's
photography
and
becomes
his
muse.
Despite
Ali's
secret
and
largely
unrequited
crush
on
Saloni,
he
develops
a
close
friendship
with
her
and
her
husband
Harry
(Vikram
Chatwal).
But
when
tragedy
strikes
with
the
terrorist
attacks
on
Sept
11,
2001,
her
father-in-law,
a
retired
army
Colonel
(Anupam
Kher),
devastated
by
grief
and
anger,
directs
his
longstanding
animosity
towards
Muslims
at
Ali,
as
the
young
man's
affection
for
Saloni
grows
increasingly
evident.
Although
the
Colonel's
wife
(Suhasini
Mulay)
bravely
tries
to
pacify
her
husband,
the
Colonel,
unable
to
accept
life's
pain,
threatens
to
bring
everything
to
a
violent
end.
An
emotional
drama,
Hope
and
a
Little
Sugar
is
written
and
directed
by
Tanuja
Chandra,
for
whom
this
is
her
first
English
language
film.
Joining
Chandra
behind
the
scenes
is
a
seasoned
film
crew,
including
cinematographer
Nirmal
Jani,
who
had
earlier
shot
Dushman
and
Sur
for
her,
as
well
as
Costume
Stylist,
Anaita
Shroff
Adajania
(Dhoom,
Race,
Being
Cyrus.)
The
producers
for
the
film
are
two
independent
film-makers
living
in
New
York,
Scott
Pardo
and
Glenn
Russow,
while
the
editor
is
Hillary
Peabody.
The
music
is
by
Wayne
sharpe,
New
York
based
musician,
who
has
also
composed
the
background
score
of
Prakash
Jha's
Gangajal
(for
which
he
won
a
Filmfare
award)
and
Afghan
filmmaker
Jawad
Wassal's
Firedancer.
Joining
him
in
composing
as
well
as
in
playback
singing
in
some
of
the
film's
tracks
are
accomplished
singers,
Sonu
Niigaam
and
Jasbir
Jassi.
Story first published: Thursday, April 10, 2008, 15:30 [IST]