Tandoori Love

Switzerland/Germany/Austria, 2008, color, 100 min., Swiss-German, English and Hindi with English subtitles
Director: Oliver Paulus Screenplay: Oliver Paulus, Stefan Hillebrand Producer Valerie Fischer Cast: Lavinia Wilson, Martin Schick, Vijay Raaz, Shweta Agarwal International Sales: Cobra Film

Reception with Swiss treats between the two screenings.

At a guesthouse in the Swiss Alps, smitten boss Markus (Martin Schick) surprises employee Sonja (Lavinia Wilson) with a very public marriage proposal. Meanwhile, a Bollywood company with no shortage of competing egos has arrived to shoot a film. When lowly cook Rajah (Vijay Raaz) also falls under Sonja’s spell, the stage is set for a brightly unorthodox culture clash replete with plenty of musical numbers.
“I am a big fan of Bollywood,” TANDOORI LOVE director Oliver Paulus told an Indian website recently. “The movies are deeply emotional and full of joy, music, colors, kitsch and luscious pathos—elements that are rare or even completely missing in most of our European movies.” Paulus deftly balances sincerity and spoof, setting one dance sequence in a supermarket and giving the stodgy Swiss locals a number of their own: “cheese and mild can be magical too,” they sing, and that’s precisely the point of the audacious TANDOORI LOVE.—Eddie Cockrell

Oliver Paulus (b: 1969, Dornach [Canton Solothurn]) studied in Basel before serving internships and assistant director roles in Basel, Zurich, Cologne and Düsseldorf. From 1994 to 1998 he studied directing and screenwriting at the Film Academy Baden-Würrtemberg, Ludwigsburg. His films include WHEN THE RIGHT ONE COMES ALONG (2003) and SO LONG, MY HEART! (2007, co-directed with Stefan Hillebrand).