Based on Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s novel, the film casts Rai as , an Indian immigrant in Oakland who runs a spice shop. Tilo is no ordinary shopkeeper; she is a "Mistress of Spices," a magical being trained to harness the mystical powers of spices to heal the Indian diaspora. The catch? She can never touch another human being, leave the shop, or use the spices for her own desire.
Before she became a global beauty icon, she was a formidable actress. Based on Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s novel, the film
(2005) marked a pivotal, albeit controversial, attempt to transition into English-language cinema . In this magical realism drama, she portrays Based on Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s novel