REVIEW: Hope and a Little Sugar

Mahima Chaudhry

Hit an IMDb search and you will be surprised to know that the Pardes girl has done over two dozen films so far. But not a single memorable performance comes to mind.

Here's a film that actually belongs to Mahima. She has had enough scope to perform. And to say that she hasn't done a good job would be unfair.

Tanuja Chandra

The filmmaker has given us films such as Dushman and Sangharsh on the one hand and Sur and Zindaggi Rocks on the other. Hope… is a film that almost balances these two extremes in the filmmaker. The violence and the human pathos come together quite beautifully in this movie.

What doesn't work

Anupam Kher is a fine actor. But somehow, just somehow, we have seen him in far better roles. Indeed, he portrays the pain of a father who has lost his child very well. Indeed, he manages to justify his character's actions to a large extent. But there are some scenes where you wonder what on earth he is doing?

For instance in the first half of the film, there is a scene where he wants to be photographed. His acting in this scene in particular seems so contrived that it's hard to believe that it's the same man who brought tears to our eyes in Sangharsh.

The scene also brings forth a problem most Indian movies face. Why is it that we make our ex army men look like a bunch of buffoons wanting to talk of nothing but the war? Tanuja unwittingly falls for this cliché.

Another under-utilised actor in Hope… is Suhasini Mulay. Tanuja's films have always had strong women characters. Mulay who plays Colonel's wife, is shown to be docile for most part of the film. In fact there is no single female character who is shown to hold the family together after the catastrophe. That is perhaps the biggest sore spot.

Verdict

Watch this film at least once. It's well worth the time spent.

Rating: 3/5

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