Aishwarya Rai is poised to make a splash in the international media with the opening of her film Mistress of Spices in the Toronto Film Festival in September 2005. Paul Mayeda Burgess, Gurinder Chadha’s husband, has directed the film and written the script – with Gurinder – based on the novel of the same name by Chitra Devakaruni. Dylan McDermot, the American actor, plays the romantic lead opposite Ash in this crossover film.
Mumbai: Aug 22, 2005/Sawf News Service/ -- Tilo is the name of the character the beauteous Aishwarya Rai plays in the film Mistress of Spices, directed by Paul Mayeda Berges, the Japanese husband of Indo-British film-maker Gurinder Chadha. Has Paul been able to capture the spirit of the narrative written as a novel by Chitra Devakaruni. “I feel that I am a citizen of the world,” says Paul, “After marrying Gurinder, I have come to know India and its deep culture. In any case, we live in an age of multi-cultures. We fuse many cultures to create the lifestyle that suits us. I am excited by the possibility of this fusion because it reflects in our films.”
Mistress of Spices is a magical story. It narrates how Tilo, a girl who runs an Indian spice store in San Francisco, mysteriously heals people with her magical spices and falls in love with an American in the process. This is a love story with a difference and Aishwarya Rai, if reports are to be believed, has done a super job of portraying the enigmatic, mysterious girl with a touch of innocence. Paul and Gurinder have jointly written the script and the screenplay and both claim that they have been ‘faithful’ to the novel. “Obviously, we needed to fit the story to the film, but within the given circumstances, we have remained closest to the original story,” the director duo says.
Gurinder’s earlier film Bride & Prejudice did excellent business in the US and UK but failed to impress Indian audiences. Gurinder began her career with a film called Bhaji On The Beach, which struck a chord in British Indian hearts for its comic pathos. She then made Bend It Like Beckham, which gave her international recognition.
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