The film directed by Geeta Malik. Available on Netflix
Starring: Sophia Taylor Ali (Ali Kapur), Manisha Koirala (Sheila Kapur), Deepti Gupta (Bhairavi Dutta), and Adil Hussain (Ranjit Kapur)
Reviewed by Steve Halpern
It is rare to find a film that has a universal appeal. In my opinion, India Sweets and Spices is one of those films. The first scenes of this film don’t appear to be compelling at all. Then, we see a change in the plot that puts those opening scenes in perspective.
This film starts with a party on the UCLA campus where the students become inebriated after a year of study. Then, the main character, Ali Kapur, travels to her opulent home in New Jersey. Ali’s parents Sheila and Gupta are preparing a party in the upscale Indian community where they live. The Indians included in the family’s inner circle have the best homes, clothes, and cars. They also view themselves as better than Indians who do not have their wealth.
The film begins to change when Ali goes to the local store called India Sweets and Spices to purchase crackers for an upcoming party. There she meets the Dutta family, who are the new owners of the store. Since Ali doesn’t have the elitist values of her family, she invites the less affluent Dutta family to the upcoming party. Ali’s mother, Sheila, is enraged at the idea that her daughter invited mere store owners to her imagined prestigious party.
At the party, the mother Bhairavi, who co-owns the store, is stunned to meet Ali’s mother Sheila. They both went to school together in India. Initially Sheila tries to deny that she knows Bhairavi, but then acknowledges their acquaintance and quickly moves to another room.
In the course of the film, we learn that both Bhairavi and Sheila were active members of a feminist organization in India. We see a photo of them when they shaved off most of their hair as a protest demanding women’s rights. Sheila would spend a few days in prison in India because of her activities.
I won’t give away the rest of the plot of the film. However, we learn that Sheila’s family became enraged because of her political activism. We also learn that the affluent Indian community that pretends to be better than their imagined underlings, is also a nest of vicious scandals.
For me, one of the things that makes this film compelling, is the idea that fighting for liberation is in no way easy. Yet if we want to be true to our best selves, this is necessary.
Real life is much more complex than the story portrayed in this film. However, the genuine liberation of women is, no doubt, an international issue. The film, India Sweets and Spices gives us a view of the international character of this movement that seeks to ultimately transform the world.
