IANS

A new film by an Indian origin director who presents a unique concoction of East and West is slated for release in Britain this month-end.

Pratibha Parmar's "Nina's Heavenly Delights" is a spicy combination of comedy, food and lesbianism.

Parmar, who had earlier directed films like "Wavelengths" and "Double the Trouble Twice the Fun" dealing with gay and lesbian issues, treads the same path in her new movie.

"Nina's Heavenly Delights", to be released in Britain Sep 29, is a romantic comedy starring Shelley Conn as the protagonist and Laura Fraser. It tells the story of Nina Shah, a young Scottish Asian woman faced with a personal identity crisis.

Nina had left her home in a small Scottish town under a cloud after quarrelling with her father, who runs an Indian restaurant. But his sudden death forces Nina to return.

She is then reunited with her childhood friend Bobbi, a wannabe Bollywood drag queen, and comes face to face with Lisa, a charismatic young woman who now owns half the restaurant.

In the midst of all this is a curry competition, which Nina is bent on winning. In her efforts to win this competition, Nina falls in love with Lisa, who had been helping her.

According to Parmar, the title of the film came from a catering service owned by her sister.

"The inspiration for the story came from my own experiences and in some ways it's autobiographical," a report in AIM (Asians In Media) magazine quoted Parmar as saying.

Parmar was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and came with her family to live in England in 1967. Before she began to make films, she was a youth and community worker working with women in the Asian community.

Parmar was awarded the Frameline Award in 1993 for making a significant and outstanding contribution to lesbian and gay media.

In 1999, the New Festival in New York did a tribute to Parmar.

She is also a board member of Women in Film and Television (UK) and the Directors Guild of Great Britain.