'Ash sizzles as The Mistress of Spices'

Director Paul Berges is in complete awe of Aishwarya, finds Diganta Guha.

Paul Mayeda Berges is excited and he has reason enough for that. His directorial debut, The Mistress of Spices - based on the novel of the same name by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, is set to hit the theatres next month. He has some documentaries behind him and has assisted his director wife Gurinder Chadha all this while.

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We caught up with Paul on mail where he spoke at length on the film that stars among others Aishwarya Rai.

What is the target audience of the film? Is it just 2nd and 3rd generation Indians or you are going beyond that?
The films that Gurinder and I have been making are international. They appeal to audiences, both Indian and others, all over the world.

You realise that people from all different backgrounds will relate to your films if you present characters truthfully and affectionately. The world is getting smaller every day and people everywhere relate to culturally specific stories which explore how traditions are changing and adapting.

Paul Mayeda Berges' directorial debut, The Mistress of Spices,  is set to hit the theatres next month.

Would you call this a crossover film or a truly international film?

Neither Gurinder nor I ever see ourselves making ‘crossover’ films - we make international films that speak to audiences worldwide. It doesn't matter if you are from Europe, Asia or Africa; if you tell a human story people will see themselves and their own experiences in the characters.

There are certain layers in the film that Indians may take further meaning from but I love that this film can be enjoyed by anyone from any corner of the world. The Spices in the film represent tradition — and we all have traditions that we feel connected to.

What is it in the story that struck you to do a film? And what about the language of the film? Is it totally English or you have used Hindi at times?
We first read Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s novel in 1996. It is a beautifully written immigrant’s tale with a layer of magic realism that we hadn’t seen before in cinema. Although Chitra is a Bengali woman now living in San Francisco, the themes in her novel were similar to the themes we have been passionate about in our films.

The language of the film, like the novel, is primarily English, with bits of Punjabi and Hindi sprinkled throughout. But because it’s set in contemporary San Francisco, the characters are from all over the world —they’re Bengali, Kashmiri, African American, Native American, etc. It’s one of the things I loved when I lived in San Francisco for many years. It's an incredibly diverse city where people cross one another’s path all the time.