FilmSnobReviews

Title: India Sweets & Spices
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Geeta Malik
Starring: Sophia Ali, Rish Shah, Anita Kalathara
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins

What It Is: Alia (Ali) is returning home for the summer from a semester at UCLA. She’s back with her traditional Indian family. When she meets Varun (Shah) she begins to have feelings. But this isn’t exactly something that should happen since her family is rather affluent in the community and Varun’s is…well…they run a grocery store. You see the caste system is still alive and well and disguised as capitalism here in the United States. When a family secret rocks Alia to her core she starts to think there’s more to her family than it seems.

What We Think: This is a very good film. I really enjoyed the performances and thought the script moved along nicely. I like the performances but they’re nothing to write home about. This comedy has the correct elements in place and overall does its job well. Sophia Ali is a star. She’s very funny and I want to keep an eye on what she does next. That couples well with director Geeta Malik, whose previous film I hadn’t seen yet, she’s doing great work here.

Our Grade: C+, With a fun premise, funny script and, nice direction there’s a familiarity to the family featured here. It’s my family and yours. The only difference here is the zany antics and shocking revelations are all occuring to an Indian-American family. These are important stories to tell. This is the second story of traditional Indian families from Tribeca alongside 7 Days. Both do an excellent job of shedding light on these beliefs. On the families and what it means to grow up in them. Plus they’re both pretty funny so that’s something. I can give this one a mild recommendation. Check it out wherever you VOD.