An old saying is that one should not judge a book by its cover. I wonder what will happen in another generation, when young readers won’t know what the cover of a book is?

Well, one should also not judge a movie by its poster. At least that is true with this movie. The poster is pretty hokey, isn’t it?

Culture clashes always make for good stories.

The Kadam family is displaced from Mumbai, India, and first tries to make a living opening a restaurant in London, comically directly under the flight path to landing at Heathrow Airport. When they can’t succeed there, they pack up the car and drive to France. As is custom in the Indian culture, Papa (Om Puri) rules the extended family with an iron fist. He listens to his children and grandchildren, but he does what he wants to do.  Against all odds, and against the wishes of his offspring, he ends up opening an Indian restaurant, the Maison Mumbai, in the quaint Southern France village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val.

The problem is that Papa’s perfect location for the new place is right across the street from Le Saule Pleureur, a classical French restaurant with a Michelin star, run by the icy Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren). It’s a hundred-foot journey from Maison Mumbai to Le Saule Pleureur, and competition proves to be a problem, in more than one area.

Culture clash, love of cuisine, French charm, Indian stubbornness and – you guessed it – love, all come together in this feel-good story with surprising depth.