Tanuja Chandra's film appreciated at Pakistan fest

Karachi, Dec 9 (IANS) Indian filmmaker Tanuja Chandra's "Hope and a Little Sugar" on the plight of Muslims in the US post 9/11 has received critical acclaim at the ongoing Kara Film Festival here.

"All nations have to live together and start learning to co-exist because if one nation was ended through tyranny, then another nation could also be wiped out," Chandra told critics.

The movie, which was filmed in New York and stars Anupam Kher, is inspired by true events. Chandra said that she was moved by events involving Muslims in the USA, the Daily Times quoted her as saying.

She pointed out that Sikhs were also subjected to discriminatory attitude and she has combined the feelings of both communities.

She said that her coverage, as a journalist, of the 1992-93 Mumbai riots helped in the production of this film. Producers Glenn Russow and Scott Pardo liked the script and agreed to its production.

According to Chandra, the movie was appreciated not only in India but in New York as well, where people were "laughing and weeping" because it was inspired by real life events. She said that each good film is based on real life experiences.

Bollywood is making waves at the Kara film fest. Actors Ajay Devgan and Saif Ali Khan are expected to attend the screening of "Omkara" next week, festival director Hasan Zaidi announced.

Besides "Hope and a Little Sugar", another film screened at the festival was "Woh Lamhe", a personal tribute inspired by true events in the life of the late movie icon Parveen Babi. It is written by Mahesh Bhatt and directed by Mohit Suri.

Mahesh, who is the Kara film fest ambassador, is there along with his brother Mukesh.

Another Indian film to attract notice is "Why I did fall in Love". It speaks of the decline of Indian cinema due to various reasons and the lives of the people associated with it.

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Hope and a Little Sugar