The movie ‘Mistress of Spices’ has the beautiful Aishwarya Rai, hot spices and the magic of color but lacks soul. The film is based on the book of same name by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and is directed by Paul Mayeda Berges.

Aishwarya Rai plays the role of Tilo, an Indian woman who runs a spice shop in the suburbs of San Francisco. She has the ability to find the right spice for each person and occasion. But she cannot show her desires on the spices. If she does her powers will diminish. Soon a lover appears in form a biker, played by Dylan McDermott and things go bad for the superhuman kitchen woman.

The book ‘Mistress of Spices’ evokes emotions but the film is a boring affair. The story is bit difficult to adapt to the screen as there is no physical passion between the characters. The love affair is played in the mind. For this talented actors are required. I am not quite sure about the acting powers of Dylan McDermott but I have seen several movies of Aishwarya Rai and I could never find any acting powers in her. Some of her emotional scenes in Bollywood movies often evoke laughter. I personally feel having a Miss World title is not a license to act.