the writing studio

The Art of Conversation

The Mistress of Spices - A dream come true for first-time director Paul Berges
By Daniel E. Dercksen

Following 12 years of writing screenplays with his wife and partner Grinder Chadha, including the box office sensations Bend It Like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice, London-based Paul Mayeda Berges makes his directorial debut with their screenplay for the exotic romance The Mistress of Spices.

Talking about his career as screenwriter and director, Berges finds that he can express himself comfortably in both mediums.

"Being a screenwriter allows me to work on the nuances of character and dialogue," he says. "There's something so exciting about going to bed thinking about a scene or a moment you've been working on and then waking up and having the answer. But I also have the directing bug now because it was a chance to continually refine those moments and to collaborate with the cast and crew."

Born in Los Angeles, Berges studied film at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He was the 2nd Unit Director on all of the previous films he has worked on with Gurinder. Their first film, What's Cooking? opened the 2000 Sundance Film Festival and won numerous international awards, including a Best British Screenplay at the London Film Critics' Circle Awards.  It also won Best British Director for Chadha in the London Critics' Awards. Their second film, Bend it Like Beckham is the highest grossing British-financed, British-distributed film ever in the UK box-office and topped the box-office in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and South Africa.

The Mistress of Spices is the fourth film they have written together.

"I've learnt a tremendous amount from her," Berges comments on working with his wife. "She really is a director with a clear vision who knows how to get the best out of her cast and crew. For The Mistress of Spices I tried to use everything I'd learned on Gurinder's sets but also give the film my own stamp in terms of the look and the tone. "

He is very excited about directing his first screenplay. "I had previously directed documentaries and short films but I am thrilled that The Mistress of Spices has become my directorial debut because it encompasses so many of the themes that are important to me - the way that culturally we influence each other more and more as the world gets smaller."

Berges and Chadha familiarised themselves with Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's novel ten years ago before it was published.  "We both fell in love with it when we read it. It just stayed with us for all these years. I lived in San Francisco for many years and just felt the story captured the Bay Area so well and had a unique combination of immigrant's tale with sizzling, magical love story.
We adapted the novel while staying at Chitra's house in San Francisco and have been passionate about making it ever since. "

It wasn't that difficult for Berges to translate his words to image. " Because we'd been living with the script for so many years we were very clear about what we wanted to say with the film, how we wanted it to look and feel. When it came time to shooting it I was determined to enjoy myself and let all the talented people around me do what they do best. I'm very lucky because over the years we've built up a great crew that have become like family. We shot the whole film in 34 days in England, San Francisco and Kerala, India and had a blast.

The biggest challenge for Berges was to find the balance of real emotion magic realism, a literary technique that explores how different cultures perceive reality. 

"When I read the novel I loved that it was a universal immigrants tale but told with a layer of magic realism that I hadn't seen done in cinema too often (except for Like Water For Chocolate)," says Berges.

"In the film the Spices represent Tradition and the character played by Aishwarya Rai doesn't want to lose her traditions as she moves to a new country. I never wanted the magic in the film to take away from the genuine emotions that she is feeling - because that sense of wanting to hold on to traditions while at the same time changing as you become influenced by new cultures is something a lot of people can relate to."

This film addresses many of the cultural themes that Chadha and Berges have been working on in their previous films but has a unique style all its own.

"It's like a fable which asks audiences to jump into a world which mixes magic with reality, so as long as people allow themselves to enter that world, they will hopefully take something away from it."

It was important for Berges to find a cinematic style that would capture the magic realism.

" We wanted the audience to feel that as she starts to fall in love the Spices are watching her every move as she breaks the rules."

A major theme in the other screenplays that Berges wrote, and now The Mistress of Spices, is that 'Love Conquers All'.

"Every screenplay you write reveals something about your self. It's impossible not to, no matter what genre or style you're working in. With Gurinder and I, we started writing together when we first met and we realised we have very similar ways of looking at the world, we value the same things, we draw our characters affectionately and we tend to be hopeful about the way the world is changing. It would be hard for Gurinder and I to write a dark film about a serial killer doing horrible things because that just isn't us. We make hopeful films because we're both tired of cynical films; we want to make films about possibilities.

Berges hopes that The Mistress of Spices will make South African audiences "value their traditions even more and re-look at the folklore and cultural myths of where they come from, while at the same time not being afraid of creating new traditions."

"The film says that as the end of the day we all have similar desires, and we all value where we come from. Some of us feel suffocated by roots and some of us feel cut off from them, but we all have a desire for traditions. If you remember that then it's very hard to ever look at anyone else as different from you."

COPYRIGHT © 2006 Daniel E. Dercksen
Published with permission in The Sunday Tribune, July 9, 2006

READ THE COMPLETE QUESTION AND ANSWER

How did the film happen? What was your initial inspiration?
We read Chitra's novel before it was published and it just stayed with us for all these years. I'd lived in San Francisco for many years and just felt the story captured the Bay Area so well and had a unique combination of immigrant's tale with sizzling, magical love story.

How does it feel to direct your first screenplay?
My partner Gurinder Chadha and I have written several screenplays together over the last 12 years including What's Cooking?, Bend it Like Beckam, and Bride and Prejudice. We first read Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's novel THE MISTRESS OF SPICES ten years ago and both fell in love with it. We adapted the novel while staying at Chitra's house in San Francisco and have been passionate about making it ever since. I had previously directed documentaries and short films but I am thrilled that MISTRESS has become my directorial debut because it encompasses so many of the themes that are important to me - the way that culturally we influence each other more and more as the world gets smaller.

You mention that Mistress of Spices encompasses many themes that are important to you. Please explain?
My background is Japanese American and Gurinder is a Punjabi Londoner, yet we see the world and culture very similarly. The way people all over the world mirror each other and the acknowledgement that we are all very similar are themes that inspire both of us.

Tell me more about your partnership with Gurinder Chadha? How did it start and what do you think is the secret of a successful partnership, particularly in an industry based on creative instinct?
Gurinder and I met in 1994 when I was the director of the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival and I showed her first feature BHAJI ON THE BEACH, which I absolutely loved. The secret of our partnership is that we respect each other and we have similar loves - family, community, music, humour, etc. Creatively we are both very affectionate about our characters and the worlds they live in - and we don't second guess our instincts as long as they are true to the characters.

Was it an easy translation from what you wrote and how the film turned out eventually?
Because we'd been living with the script for so many years we were very clear about what we wanted to say with the film, how we wanted it to look and feel. When it came time to shooting it I was determined to enjoy myself and let all the talented people around me do what they do best. I'm very lucky because over the years we've built up a great crew that have become like family. We shot the whole film in 34 days in England, San Francisco and Kerala, India and had a blast.

How difficult was it to make the film?
The biggest challenge was in getting the balance right between the real emotion in the film and the magic realism. When I read the novel I loved that it was a universal immigrants tale but told with a layer of magic realism that I hadn't seen done in cinema too often (except for LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE). In the film the Spices represent Tradition and TILO (played by Aishwarya Rai) doesn't want to lose her traditions as she moves to a new country. I never wanted the magic in the film to take away from the genuine emotions that TILO is feeling - because that sense of wanting to hold on to traditions while at the same time changing as you become influenced by new cultures is something a lot of people can relate to.

Do you prefer being the screenwriter or director?
I love being a screenwriter and working on the nuances of character and dialogue - there's something so exciting about going to bed thinking about a scene or a moment you've been working on and then waking up and having the answer. But I also have the directing bug now because it was a chance to continually refine those moments and to collaborate with the cast and crew. I've been the 2nd Unit Director on all of the previous films I've worked on with Gurinder and I've learnt a tremendous amount from her - she really is a director with a clear vision who knows how to get the best out of her cast and crew. For MISTRESS I tried to use everything I'd learned on Gurinder's sets but also give the film my own stamp in terms of the look and the tone. It's an intimate film that takes you into a magical world and I spent a lot of time with my Director of Photography, Santosh Sivan, planning the mood and colours of the film. We really wanted to bring the Spices alive.

There is a surreal, fantasy element in the film.
Yes, the magic realism is a big part of the novel and we wanted to find a cinematic style which would capture this. We wanted the audience to feel that as TILO starts to fall in love with DOUG (Dylan McDermott) the Spices are watching her every move as she breaks the rules. I also worked with the composer, Craig Pruess, on giving each Spice its own instrument so you heard their warnings clearly. At the same time it's a classic immigrant's tale about taking your first steps into a new world and we wanted those emotions to resonate in a more realistic way.

A major theme in the other screenplays you wrote, and now this one, is that 'Love Conquers All'. Would you agree?
Every screenplay you write reveals something about your self. It's impossible not to, no matter what genre or style you're working in. With Gurinder and I, we started writing together when we first met and we realised we have very similar ways of looking at the world, we value the same things, we draw our characters affectionately and we tend to be hopeful about the way the world is changing. It would be hard for Gurinder and I to write a dark film about a serial killer doing horrible things because that just isn't us. We make hopeful films because we're both tired of cyncial films, we want to make films about possibilities.

What do you think is the most important aspect of a screenplay that makes producers take notice?
A clear vision and an original voice about a specific world. It doesn't matter what genre you're working in, a producer or financier wants to feel like they're in good hands with the storytelling. You have to be ready to answer any question that comes your way about the world that you've created - you should know the back story about all your characters, the rhythm in which they speak, their hobbies, etc. The more specific you are the more people will be able to relate to the truth of those characters.

Any Advice for aspirant screenwriters and filmmakers?
Be ready to work hard and be clear about what you want to say in your film because you will be living with it forever. No film is ever easy to make so you better really love your idea to be prepared to go the distance with it.

Where do you find your motivation?
It's always about telling stories which humanise people - stories we haven't seen before with characters we relate to in ways we never expected.

What inspires you?
Children, elderly people, refugees, teenagers, just about anyone who can keep a positive outlook on life when there are challenges all around them.

What do you think is your function as writer and filmmaker?
To make characters that are human so that you see the world from another perspective. And to give people a sense of hope and possibility - to celebrate life.

Magic and make believe seems to be important in your life?
I see magic as more about links to tradition and folklore. We are all connected by stories and histories and magic is a unique form of storytelling.

An important aspect that makes Mistress of Spices work is its ability to deal with a specific culture, yet it embraces universal qualities that anyone in the world can relate to. Do you agree?
Thank you very much, I hope this is true - it's what Gurinder and I strive to do with all our films because it's what makes cinema so invigorating.

Is this how you have always wanted it to be? Why?
I feel very fortunate to be writing and making films right now, it's full of wonderful, enriching experiences and I also see it as a huge responsibility to tell uplifting stories.

Any comments you would like to make regarding the film?
This film addresses many of the cultural themes that Gurinder and I have been working on in our previous films but in a unique style all its own. It's like a fable which asks audiences to jump into a world which mixes magic with reality, so as long as people allow themselves to enter that world, they will hopefully take something away from it..

What do you hope audiences will get from watching the film?
I hope it makes audiences value their traditions even more and re-look at the folklore and cultural myths of where they come from, while at the same time not being afraid of creating new traditions. The film says that as the end of the day we all have similar desires, and we all value where we come from. Some of us feel suffocated by roots and some of us feel cut off from them, but we all have a desire for traditions. If you remember that then it's very hard to ever look at anyone else as different from you.

Any future projects?
Gurinder and I are writing many different scripts and overseeing other young writers too. The projects encompass different genres and styles but there are cultural themes and our sensibility which link them. Some are set in the UK in the spirit of BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM, others are set in India and the States. We would both love to make a film in South Africa because it's so full of life and vibrancy and possibility.