听 User Rating 
Contains moderate violence
Paul Mayeda Berges - hubbie of filmmaker Gurinder Chadha and co-writer of Bend It Like Beckham - makes his directorial debut with The Mistress of Spices, a fairytale about an Indian woman and her magical spice shop. But don't expect any sizzling scenes in this lacklustre adaptation of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's acclaimed novel. Despite its colourful eastern palette and amiable performances from Bollywood starlet Aishwarya Rai and American hunk Dylan McDermott, the drama is as bland as a cucumber sandwich.
Tilo (Rai) may take the shape of a young beauty on the outside, but inside she's one of a secret clan of ancient women who draw on the mystical properties of Indian spices to cure anything from heartaches to burns. Living in California, a land populated by psychotherapists and plastic surgeons, it's no surprise it's the likes of homesick Kashmiri taxi driver Haroun (Nitin Gantra) who come to her for healing, as opposed to sexy architect Doug (McDermott) who unexpectedly tempts her out of her craft's boundaries.
"POOR CHOICE OF SUBJECT MATERIAL"
At heart a cross cultural romance with a mystic theme, The Mistress Of Spices should appeal to women and Rai's millions of Bollywood fans. But the snail's pace at which Berges unfolds the plot is as painful to watch as the ridiculous way in which the heroine literally jumps out of her skin each time she walk past a red chilli, which ignites forbidden passion. Ultimately it's the poor choice of subject material that fails to impress, rather than the lifeless direction. There are only so many lingering shots of cumin and turmeric one can stand before wishing Jamie Oliver would magically appear and conjure up something more interesting with them.
