by Subhash K Jha

British-Indian director Gurinder Chadha's forte is and has always been crossover films – whether a Bhaji on the Beach (1993) or the box office hit Bend it like Beckham or Bride and Prejudice.

Recently, however she took a bit of a detour and shot a commercial for Gibson guitar in Mumbai. Having completed this, she is back to her first love. She is writing a script for her next in Spain. Her next project is finally in place.

Says the director from Spain, "I've finally got the green light for my romantic comedy Sassy Girl .We've started the casting process and are talking to actors in the US. I aim to shoot this spring in New York – if casting goes well and the actors I want are available – Inshallah!"

The multi-million project to be shot during April and May will be Chadha's first full-on romantic comedy.

So what made her do the guitar commercial? "I loved doing this ad in India. The entire crew, were so hard working and responsive – I would love to do more ad films there," she says.

While Chadha is busy finalising her next, her husband Paul Mayeda's debut film Mistress Of Spices, featuring Aishwarya Rai is all set to be released in the UK and India on April 21.