AISHWARYA TO BE 'THE MISTRESS OF SPICES'
(27 February 2006)

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's book 'The Mistress of Spices' is to be turned into a movie starring Bollywood's Golden Girl, Aishwarya Rai. The film, by first time director Paul Mayeda Berges, has been co-written with his partner Gurinder Chadha. Berges's and Chadha's previous two films Bend It Like Beckham and Bride & Prejudice have broken box-office records and launched the careers of stars like Keira Knightly and Parminder Nagra amongst others.

The Mistress of Spices is a colourful movie, centred around Tilo, named after the sesame seed, spice of nourishment and played beautifully by Bollywood actress and former Miss World, Aishwarya Rai. The movie follows Tilo, member of a unique and blessed group of women that have been trained, since childhood, to worship and respect the magical powers of the spices. She is sent to San Francisco to open a store called "Spice Bazaar" and help people using the mysterious powers of the spices.

Tilo, who also has the power to see visions of the future, soon ends up helping many characters in the film. However, there are codes of behaviour… for her powers to work she must obey three simple but strict rules - she must only use the spices to help others, she must not touch another human's skin and she must never leave her store. But then she meets Doug (Dylan McDermott) and her life, rules and resolutions are turned upside down…does she follow the path of the spices or will she break the age-old traditions of her destiny and follow the path of western ideals and love?

Paul Mayeda Berges has selected a versatile cast from around the world for the completion of his debut film, including Dylan McDermott, Nitin Ganatra, Anupam Kher, Adewele Akkinuoye-Agbaje, Ayesha Dharkar, Padma Lakshmi, Zohra Sehgal and Caroline Chikezie. The film is a truly global production, having been shot in Kerala, the home of the exotic and beautiful spices that play a pivotal role in the film, in San Francisco, on the Isle of Man where the stunning store 'Spice Bazaar' was actually created and also at Ealing Studios.

The rich vibrancy and colour of the spices and the Spice Bazaar have been stunningly brought to life by the handiwork of one of India's top cinematographers Santosh Sivan, who has worked on films such as Iruvar and Dil Se amongst others.

Paul Mayeda Berges says of his directorial debut: "I fell in love with the book years ago, and knew immediately that I wanted to recreate the magic of Tilo and the Spice Bazaar on celluloid. I was delighted that Chitra (the author) worked with us on the film and is as happy with the adaptation as I am. It is a challenging and passionate film that again addresses many of the issues that second and third generation immigrants face across the world…it's simply in a magical context."

The Mistress of Spices goes on general release on 21st April.
Click here to read about the Cast & Crew.