Tanuja Chandra

There’s no problem that hope and a little sugar cannot solve. Tanuja Chandra had pinned a whole film on this idea and even when the producers abandoned her, she stuck to the belief. With two weeks to go for the release of the film, she tells t2 about her first English film and the innovative contest idea it has sparked.

What can a film called Hope and a Little Sugar be about?

The film is the story of the romance between a Muslim photographer and a Sikh widow set in New York City in the backdrop of an event that changed the world — the 9/11 attack. The title stands for the belief that we all have to learn to live with each other. If you hate me and I hate you, we will keep hurting each other. This way both sides will be caught in a chain of hatred. The widow runs a shop that sells gourmet mithai. The sugar bit comes from there.

Why did you choose English?

English is no longer a foreign language in India. I am looking at audiences in the urban multiplexes. At the end of the day, it is an emotional story. It all started when I was approached by two US-based Indian distributors to make a movie in English. Even when they backed out and I started approaching Bollywood producers, I knew that if it was made in Hindi, the film would not be what it was meant to be.

Mahima and Anupam Kher

How did you find producers?

I didn’t. They found me. Out of the blue, there was this email from Glenn Russow, who said he had read the script and was asking if he and Scott Pardo could produce the film. The entire pre-production happened on the Net. The first time we met was when I landed in New York for the shooting with 25 crew members. We shot in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens over 25 days. The editing also happened on the Net, with portions being streamed and restreamed from Manhattan to Mumbai and back. The process was a model for future global film-making. The way two groups of strangers got thrown into this intimate business of film-making, it was much like an arranged marriage!

Mahima and Amit Syal

Why did you choose Mahima Chaudhary in the lead?

You will see a different Mahima in the film. She plays a New Yorker. The film was shot in autumn 2004, just before she got married. Anupam Kher plays her father. He is a retired Sikh colonel who turns violently against a community after tragedy strikes.

Why did it take so long to release?

The film was touring the festival circuit. It was adjudged best film at the South Asian International Film Festival 2006 in New York City. We’ve been to International Women’s Film Festival in Milan, the Kara Film Festival in Pakistan and International Film Festival in Goa. We’ll go to London before the release here on March 14.

Finally, any lessons learnt from the debacle of Zindaggi Rocks?

If you have a script, stick to it. Once one starts making compromises, the film goes wrong. The story of a mother and an adopted child was interesting enough and did not need trappings like item songs.

dream big

Do you dream of being on the big screen? You could be the one Tanuja Chandra is looking for. Buzz18.com, in association with Chandra’s Hope and a Little Sugar, is organising the Stir Up Your Dreams contest, to be adjudged by Chandra, Anupam Kher and Mahima Chaudhary. Shoot two minutes of a monologue on ‘hope’ in English or Hindi and upload it on www.buzz18.com. The winner will get a role in Chandra’s next film, a three-month acting course in Kher’s acting school and gym membership. The idea, says Chandra, was sparked by the performance put in by debutant Amit Syal in Hope... The last date for submission is March 5.