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The Mistress of Spices (film)
Encyclopedia
The Mistress of Spices (2005) is a film by Paul Mayeda Berges
, with a screenplay by Gurinder Chadha
and Berges. It is based upon the novel The Mistress of Spices
by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
. The film stars Aishwarya Rai
. The soundtrack was created by Craig Pruess
, who also contributed to the Bend It Like Beckham
soundtrack.
), an immigrant from India, is a shopkeeper, clairvoyant, and a mistress of spices. The spices she gives to her customers help them to satisfy their needs and desires, such as "sandalwood to dispel painful memories; black cumin seed to protect against evil eye."
As a young girl, Tilo was initiated as one of several young Mistresses of Spices by a First Mother (Zohra Sehgal
) who warns the girls about rules they must follow, or face consequences. They are instructed never to leave their respective stores all around the world, touch the skin of the people they meet or use the spices to their own ends.
Tilo ends up in the San Francisco Bay Area in a store called "Spice Bazaar". Tilo's customers include Haroun, a cab driver (Nitin Ganatra
), a grandfather (Anupam Kher
) dealing with an American-born granddaughter Geeta (Padma Lakshmi
), Kwesi, a man trying to impress his girlfriend (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
) and Jagjit, a teenager trying to fit in at school (Sonny Gill Dulay).
Her life takes a turn one day, when a man on a motorcycle (Dylan McDermott
) crashes outside her store. Tilo tends to his injuries, while trying to ignore their mutual attraction. Her life changes when he touches her and they begin to fall in love. This man, Doug, is an American and an architect.
But the spices are jealous, and things soon start to go sour in her relationships with her other customers. Haroun gets in an accident, Geeta's family situation does not improve, Jagjit falls in with the wrong crowd at school, and Kwesi's girlfriend breaks up with him. Doug comes to meet her that night and tells her that his mother died.
Tilo recognizes that the source of these misfortunes is her breaking of the rules. The First Mother comes to her in a vision and chastises her. She vows that she will return to India, and posts a notice about a closing sale. She goes all out to help her customers one last time and tells the spices that she will spend just one night with Doug, and then she will give herself totally to them. She closes the store and goes off with Doug for the night. After a sweet night of love-making, she leaves him a note that she must leave and cannot return, but she will always love him. Then she goes back to the store and sets the spices on fire, with her at the center of the flames.
Doug comes searching for her, and finds the store devastated. But Tilo has not been burned alive after all; she is still there, alive and barely conscious. There is no sign of a fire, but there has been an earthquake. We see a vision of the First Mother sitting at the beach, telling her that because she demonstrated her willingness to give up everything for the spices, now she can have everything and they will never desert her again. Doug agrees to help her rebuild the store, and she reunites with him.
Reviews
Paul Mayeda Berges
Paul Mayeda Berges is an American screenwriter and director.Of Japanese ancestry, Berges graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1990. He has collaborated with his wife, British-Indian director Gurinder Chadha, on a number of films...
, with a screenplay by Gurinder Chadha
Gurinder Chadha
Gurinder Chadha , OBE, is a British film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in the United Kingdom. She is best known for the hit films Bhaji on the Beach , Bend It Like Beckham , Bride and Prejudice and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging...
and Berges. It is based upon the novel The Mistress of Spices
Mistress of Spices
The Mistress of Spices, , set in contemporary Oakland, California, is a novel by Indian American writer and University of Houston Creative Writing Program professor Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.-Plot summary:...
by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an Indian-American author, poet, and the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Writing at the University of Houston Creative Writing Program....
. The film stars Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
. The soundtrack was created by Craig Pruess
Craig Pruess
Craig Pruess is an American composer, musician, arranger and gold & platinum record producer who has been living in Britain since 1973...
, who also contributed to the Bend It Like Beckham
Bend It Like Beckham
Bend It Like Beckham is a 2002 comedy-drama film starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Anupam Kher, Shaznay Lewis, and Archie Panjabi first released in the United Kingdom. The film was directed by Gurinder Chadha...
soundtrack.
Plot synopsis
Tilo (Aishwarya RaiAishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
), an immigrant from India, is a shopkeeper, clairvoyant, and a mistress of spices. The spices she gives to her customers help them to satisfy their needs and desires, such as "sandalwood to dispel painful memories; black cumin seed to protect against evil eye."
As a young girl, Tilo was initiated as one of several young Mistresses of Spices by a First Mother (Zohra Sehgal
Zohra Sehgal
Zohra Segal is an Indian stage and film actress, who started her career as dancer with dancer Uday Shankar in 1935 and worked with him for the next eight years. She has appeared in many Bollywood films as well as English language films and television series...
) who warns the girls about rules they must follow, or face consequences. They are instructed never to leave their respective stores all around the world, touch the skin of the people they meet or use the spices to their own ends.
Tilo ends up in the San Francisco Bay Area in a store called "Spice Bazaar". Tilo's customers include Haroun, a cab driver (Nitin Ganatra
Nitin Ganatra
Nitin Ganatra is a Kenyan born British actor. He is known internationally as Prince Pondicherry in the Tim Burton film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He also appears in the Gurinder Chada film Bride and Prejudice as Kholi Saab and The Mistress of Spices as Haroun...
), a grandfather (Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher is an Indian actor who has appeared in nearly 400 films and 100 plays. Though mainly appearing in Bollywood films, he has had roles in some films from other nations as well...
) dealing with an American-born granddaughter Geeta (Padma Lakshmi
Padma Lakshmi
Padma Parvati Lakshmi also Padma, Lady Rushdie is an American cookbook author, actress, model and television host. She has been the host of the US reality television program Top Chef since season two in 2006, for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for...
), Kwesi, a man trying to impress his girlfriend (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a British actor, and former fashion model best known for his roles as Mr. Eko on Lost, Simon Adebisi on Oz and Nykwana Wombosi in The Bourne Identity.-Early life and career:...
) and Jagjit, a teenager trying to fit in at school (Sonny Gill Dulay).
Her life takes a turn one day, when a man on a motorcycle (Dylan McDermott
Dylan McDermott
Mark Anthony McDermott , better known by his professional name of Dylan McDermott, is an American actor, known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the television legal drama The Practice and his role in the series Dark Blue as Lt. Carter Shaw. McDermott currently stars in FX...
) crashes outside her store. Tilo tends to his injuries, while trying to ignore their mutual attraction. Her life changes when he touches her and they begin to fall in love. This man, Doug, is an American and an architect.
But the spices are jealous, and things soon start to go sour in her relationships with her other customers. Haroun gets in an accident, Geeta's family situation does not improve, Jagjit falls in with the wrong crowd at school, and Kwesi's girlfriend breaks up with him. Doug comes to meet her that night and tells her that his mother died.
Tilo recognizes that the source of these misfortunes is her breaking of the rules. The First Mother comes to her in a vision and chastises her. She vows that she will return to India, and posts a notice about a closing sale. She goes all out to help her customers one last time and tells the spices that she will spend just one night with Doug, and then she will give herself totally to them. She closes the store and goes off with Doug for the night. After a sweet night of love-making, she leaves him a note that she must leave and cannot return, but she will always love him. Then she goes back to the store and sets the spices on fire, with her at the center of the flames.
Doug comes searching for her, and finds the store devastated. But Tilo has not been burned alive after all; she is still there, alive and barely conscious. There is no sign of a fire, but there has been an earthquake. We see a vision of the First Mother sitting at the beach, telling her that because she demonstrated her willingness to give up everything for the spices, now she can have everything and they will never desert her again. Doug agrees to help her rebuild the store, and she reunites with him.
Cast
- Aishwarya RaiAishwarya RaiAishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
- Tilo - Dylan McDermottDylan McDermottMark Anthony McDermott , better known by his professional name of Dylan McDermott, is an American actor, known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the television legal drama The Practice and his role in the series Dark Blue as Lt. Carter Shaw. McDermott currently stars in FX...
- Doug - Ayesha DharkerAyesha DharkerAyesha Dharker is a British-Indian actress. She is known for her performance in the Tamil Indian film, The Terrorist , for which she was awarded Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress at the Cairo International Film Festival and nominated for a Chlotrudis Award and National Film Award for Best...
- Hameeda - Nitin GanatraNitin GanatraNitin Ganatra is a Kenyan born British actor. He is known internationally as Prince Pondicherry in the Tim Burton film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He also appears in the Gurinder Chada film Bride and Prejudice as Kholi Saab and The Mistress of Spices as Haroun...
- Haroun - Sonny Gill Dulay - Jagjit
- Anupam KherAnupam KherAnupam Kher is an Indian actor who has appeared in nearly 400 films and 100 plays. Though mainly appearing in Bollywood films, he has had roles in some films from other nations as well...
- Geeta's Grandfather - Adewale Akinnuoye-AgbajeAdewale Akinnuoye-AgbajeAdewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a British actor, and former fashion model best known for his roles as Mr. Eko on Lost, Simon Adebisi on Oz and Nykwana Wombosi in The Bourne Identity.-Early life and career:...
- Kwesi - Toby Marlow - Young Doug (5-6yrs)
- Caroline ChikezieCaroline ChikezieCaroline Chikezie is a British actress, born of Nigerian heritage. She is probably most famous for playing the role of 'Sasha Williams' in the British teen soap As If from 2001 to 2004...
- Myisha - Padma LakshmiPadma LakshmiPadma Parvati Lakshmi also Padma, Lady Rushdie is an American cookbook author, actress, model and television host. She has been the host of the US reality television program Top Chef since season two in 2006, for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for...
- Geeta
External links
- Mistress: Aishwarya's best work?
- Mistress of Spices Movie Trailer
- Interview with director Paul Mayeda
Reviews