India Sweets and Spices

Play trailer

2:18

India Sweets and Spices

PG-13

Released Nov 19, 2021

1h 41m

Comedy

Drama

Romance

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

29 Reviews

78%

Popcornmeter

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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

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

Rated: 3/5

Dec 4, 2022

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

Read all reviews

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

EA

Lighthearted and entertaining.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/24/21

Full Review

Talat K

Total waste of time and money!!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

11/24/21

Full Review

Susan B

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

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/23/21

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Geeta Malik

Director

Sophia Ali

Alia Kapur

Manisha Koirala

Sheila Kapur

Adil Hussain

Ranjit Kapur

Rish Shah

Varun Dutta

Deepti Gupta

Bhairavi Dutta

Life of the Party

38%

40%

Life of the Party

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Life of the Party

About My Father

37%

81%

About My Father

Watchlist

TRAILER

for About My Father

Poms

36%

72%

Poms

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Poms

The Moon and Back

80%

69%

The Moon and Back

Watchlist

Queen Bees

55%

89%

Queen Bees

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Queen Bees

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

India Sweets and Spices: Featurette - Inside Look

0:58

India Sweets and Spices: Trailer 1

2:18

View more videos

View more photos

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

Most Popular at Home Now