One of the things that makes a Bollywood movie a Bollywood movie is a scene with the hero and heroine suddenly in the Swiss Alps “singing” a song. No one questions this because it is just part of the genre. Well now a Swiss director, Oliver Paulas, has decided that he will make a Bollywood film set in Switzerland. Paulas said, “The typical Bollywood mystic interests me less than the colourful confusion of India.”
The film’s title is Tandoori Love and the story is: “A furious culture-clash love-comedy. The personal cook of an Indian Film Diva falls in love with a girl from a typical Swiss Restaurant. Bollywood meets Switzerland.”
According to Susanne Ostwald a reporter who visited the set, “While the story picks up on some elements of the traditional Indian family film – for example the harmonious relations between different generations which are shattered by the arrival of a newcomer – other elements constitute a departure from this kind of film.”
Ostwald went on to report, “He (Paulus) was particularly interested in culinary aspects. ‘I’ve spent a lot of time in Indian kitchens looking over the cooks’ shoulders,’ hobby cook Paulus recounts over (an Italian) lunch. This is what got him interested in cooking his own Bollywood soup. And this is why the ‘Zum Hirschen’ guesthouse, which is at the centre of the plot, features Indian statues instead of traditional alpine art. And it’s also why there’s chicken curry on the menu instead of Mistkratzerli (roast spatchcock).”
This certainly sounds to be an interesting movie and hopefully we will get to see it when it releases next year.
