"Hope and a Little Sugar" releasing April 18, 2008

New York, April 18, 2007
Nancy Oberio

Movie: Hope and a Little Sugar
Director: Tanuja Chandra
Producer: Glenn Russow, Scott Pardo
Story: Glenn Russow, Tanuja Chandra
Music: Rick Baitz
Cast: Mahima Choudhary, Anupam Kher, Vikram Chatwal, Amit Sial
Hope and a Little Sugar (April 18, 2008) - Completed

"Hope and a Little Sugar", a English film, which premiered in the South Asian International Film Festival in New York, had been awarded the best feature film of the festival is releasing in India on April 18, 2008. ‘Hope and a little sugar’ is a simple, sweet film which was screened two years ago at the international film festival at Goa and had a good response. The film has been a little delayed seeing its release in India.

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                                                                                 Mahima Chaudhry and Vikram Chatwal

9/11, Terrorist-event based movie, 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 widow. Ali Siddiqui (Amit Sial), Bike messenger meets the beautiful but married Saloni (Mahima Chaudhry), a charismatic 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).

When Harry dies in the World Trade Center on 9/11, his father (Anupam Kher), a retired Sikh colonel, devastated by grief and anger, directs his longstanding animosity toward Muslims at Ali as the young man's affection for Saloni grows increasingly evident. Unable to accept his son's death, the Colonel threatens to bring a violent end to Ali and Saloni's budding romance.

Anupam Kher (Colonel) is most powerful and versatile actors in Indian movie industry. He won the prestigious Filmfare Award eight times. His role include Bend It Like Beckham, Mistress of Spices and Bride & Prejudice. He played more than 200 films and 100 plays

Mahima Chaudhry started her career as a top fashion model. She received Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 1997. She also won the award for Best Female Debut Performance in the motion picture Pardes, which began a string of moving and memorable performances for such leading Hindi film directors as Raj Kumar Santoshi and Prakash Jha while appearing opposite popular film stars including Sanjay Dutt and Anil Kapoor. She also found time to grace the global advertising and media campaigns for companies such as Lux and Pepsi. Mahima Chaudhury, 34, (real name Ritu Chaudhury was in Delhi India

Vikram Chatwal started his career in acting and modeling since 1995. He got first lead role in director Vijay Singh's One Dollar Curry. He has modeled for Vogue, L'Officiel, One World, Surface and has done fashion shows for Valentino, Hermes and "Dressed to Kilt." He got cameo appearances in Ben Stiller's Zoolander.

Amit Sial (Ali Siddiui), Born and raised Kanpur, India, discovered acting at the age of eight and recently starred in a lead role of Tim Suppel's adapted version of Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories, directed by acclaimed Mumbai-based experimental theater director, Neeraj Kabi. Mr. Sial has appeared in numerous stage productions. Mr. Sial also directed two short adaptations of Shakespeare's Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet for the short play festival organized by the Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai. He works as an actor and production executive for the Dream Theatre, a theater production group based in New Dehli. Sial studied at Delhi University.

Suhasini Mulay (Mrs. Oberio) is successful documentary filmmaker (produced over 60 documentaries and television series) , character actor and well known for her special interest in producing developmental films for women. She won five National Awards- the most acclaimed award in India for the arts in 35 years. She is best known for her roles in Dil Chahata, Humraaz, and in the internationally successful Lagaan. As a filmmaker, she has produced over 60 documentaries and television series

Ranjit Choudhry bnecame popular after Mira Nair's award-winning films such as Mississippi Masala with Denzel Washington, Kama Sutra, The Perez Family with Marisa Tomei and My Own Country. He is veteran of film and television in the U.S. and India. Other credits include Deepa Mehta's Fire with Shabana Azmi, Camilla with Jessica Tandy and Bridget Fonda, Bollywood Hollywood, Hungamma Bombay Style, Basu Chatterjee's Khatta Meetha and Baton Baton Mein, Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Khoobsoorat, Robin Dharmaraj's award-winning film Chakra with Naseeruddin Shah and Smita Patil and Kaalia with Amitabh Bachchan.

Nicoye Banks (Nicky) played Philadelphia Eagles defensive back in the recent film Invincible and in the 2005 release G as a flamboyant rap artist. His theater credits include Trapped, an Adelco Award nominee for Best Play, and Same Train, an OOBR Award winner for Best Play.

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Mahima Chaudhry and Amit Sial