Chadha said Beckham "opened a lot of doors, and I could have done a
Hollywood movie (next). But I used that success to do Bride first,
because I might not get another chance."

Not that she minds working in America. This spring she'll produce The
Mistress of Spices in San Francisco, with her husband
directing. "It's like Chocolat, but with spices," Chadha said. "A
woman gives customers certain spices to reach their desires."

The film's source is a cross-cultural novel by Indian-born Chitra
Divakaruni, who teaches creative writing each fall at the University
of Houston.

"They are a very talented team, and in our discussions, I have felt
that they really understand the spirit of the book," said
Divakaruni. "I can't wait to see how they'll deal with certain
aspects, such as the magic in the book."

Adapting Austen's tale of British class conflicts was trickier.
Chadha finally decided it wouldn't concern class, "but first world
and third world — privileged and underprivileged countries."

Again, a family of modest means seeks suitors for its daughters. But
this family is in modern-day India, and the chief daughter is Lalita,
played by Aishwarya Rai, a superstar in India making her first
English-language film.

When Darcy (New Zealander Martin Henderson), a handsome American
hotelier, visits Lalita's town to explore hotel sites, the two are
smitten. When Darcy's clumsy opportunism clashes with her proud sense
of culture, their rocky road to love is paved with musical numbers in
the boisterous, colorful style of Bollywood, the name given India's
massive film industry.

"I'd thought Austen's story was the antithesis of Bollywood, but it
fit beautifully to contemporary India, with the rich Americans being
like the British upper class," Chadha said.

She shot Bride in India, England and the United States. Houston-born
actress Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls), who plays Darcy's sister, had
to fly from Los Angeles to London to shoot her scenes, even though
they were set in California.

"So much cheating goes on in movies," Chadha said with a laugh.

from

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/headline/entertainment/303186
5