India Sweets and Spices

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2:18

India Sweets and Spices

PG-13

2021

1h 41m

Comedy

Drama

Romance

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Popcornmeter

83%

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29 Reviews

78%

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Fewer than 50 Verified Ratings

Alia Kapur (Sophia Ali) returns to her family's posh suburban New Jersey home after a year away at college and upends their well-ordered life with her brash independence. After befriending Varun (Rish Shah), the handsome son of the new owners of the local Indian grocery, she invites his family to a dinner party where family secrets are revealed. Alia's surprise turns to rebellion when she uncovers secrets about both her parents that push her toward a daring and ultimately hilarious confrontation. INDIA SWEETS AND SPICES celebrates a young woman's coming of age set against a lovingly framed glimpse of the life of an Indian American family.

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Critics Consensus

Often offering both halves of its titular flavor profiles with equal aplomb, India Sweets and Spices is a slightly uneven but uniquely savory rom-com.

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Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

India Sweets and Spices is peppy, energetic and unapologetically broad in its comic approach.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 4, 2022

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Cath Clarke

Guardian

The impossibility of ever really knowing our parents is a familiar storyline, but it’s told here with real generosity and warmth. Malik slyly pokes fun, but never meanly.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 29, 2022

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Stephen Romei

The Australian

What follows makes this movie more complex that its rom-com set up, which has Alia returning home for the summer break, being pursued by a handsome, wealthy young man who will have a real elephant...

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 17, 2022

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Ruth Maramis

FlixChatter Film Blog

Headlined by the spirited Sophia Ali, this vibrant romance/family drama has a lively pacing. There are unexpected twists thrown in that made this one quite memorable.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 14, 2023

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Jane Freebury

The Canberra Times (Australia)

Sweet central performances can't outweight the social satire laid on thick and the gaudy aesthetic in this inside job on some questionable expat community values

Feb 21, 2022

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Jim Schembri

jimschembri.com

Its ham-fisted, for sure, and some of the story points are clumsily handled...Still, its hard not to warm to the films well-packaged progressive sentiments, especially when blessed with such a winning lead performance.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 4, 2022

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Kishore C Desai

It was misleading. Expected a Bollywood movie in Hindi Language, but it turned out to be a low budget Hollywood movie in English

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/20/21

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Peter P

All actors played their parts well, and their comedic timing was excellent. I felt the movie was excellent, and well worth seeing!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/28/21

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Shri R

It's a very skewed depiction of Indian culture viewed through a tubular western lens. The reality among Indian families is much different. At the end of the day, Parents take care of their friend's kids as their own.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

11/28/21

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EA

Lighthearted and entertaining.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/24/21

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Talat K

Total waste of time and money!!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

11/24/21

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Susan B

Understated and thought provoking. Also the actor who plays Varun is hot.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/23/21

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Geeta Malik

Director

Sophia Ali

Alia Kapur

Manisha Koirala

Sheila Kapur

Adil Hussain

Ranjit Kapur

Rish Shah

Varun Dutta

Deepti Gupta

Bhairavi Dutta

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India Sweets and Spices: Featurette - Inside Look

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India Sweets and Spices: Trailer 1

2:18

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Synopsis

Alia Kapur (Sophia Ali) returns to her family's posh suburban New Jersey home after a year away at college and upends their well-ordered life with her brash independence. After befriending Varun (Rish Shah), the handsome son of the new owners of the local Indian grocery, she invites his family to a dinner party where family secrets are revealed. Alia's surprise turns to rebellion when she uncovers secrets about both her parents that push her toward a daring and ultimately hilarious confrontation. INDIA SWEETS AND SPICES celebrates a young woman's coming of age set against a lovingly framed glimpse of the life of an Indian American family.

Director: Geeta Malik
Producer: Naomi Despres, John Penotti, Gigi Pritzker, Sidney Kimmel
Screenwriter: Geeta Malik
Distributor: Bleecker Street
Production Co: Sidney Kimmel Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Some Strong Language|Sexual Material|Brief Drug References)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 19, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 7, 2021
Box Office (Gross USA): $288.6K
Runtime: 1h 41m

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