Gurinder Chadha, who is editing the musical Bride And Prejudice in London, is not done with husbands and wives yet.

New Line, the makers of the 11 Oscar winner The Return Of The King, has signed her on to direct the romantic comedy Nine Wives. This would be the first film Chadha, who began her career with Bhaji On The Beach in 1993, directs for a major studio. It will also be her second film in America, following What's Cooking?, the little seen but much admired film released in 2000 revolving around family sentiments and set on a Thanksgiving Day.  

Chadha's $6 million movie Bend It Like Beckham grossed $80 million worldwide last year (with about $32 million coming from North America). She began work on Bride And Prejudice, starring Aishwarya Rai and Michael Handerson (The Ring), in mid 2003. The film will be distributed in North America and several countries in South America by Miramax, a division of Walt Disney. Beckham was released by Fox Searchlight in North America.

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Hollywood Reporter, which broke the story on Nine Wives, notes that it is about a commitment-phobic guy who breaks up with his longtime girlfriend and begins to wake up every morning with a different wife. No stars have been attached to the project yet. Chadha's husband, Paul Mayeda Berges, who has worked with her on the script of her last three films, is expected to be her collaborator on the new project, too.

'We share similar sensibilities. And since Paul is an American and has lived there for long,' she had told rediff.com last year, 'he brings insights to our films that are crucial.'

The new project came to her in the wake of excellent buzz for Bride And Prejudice. The influential trade publication Variety listed it among the hottest British films to be released this year.

'She is already a high profile director in Hollywood,' Deepak Nayar, the producer of Beckham and Bride And Prejudice had said last year when the movie was launched. 'Now, with Miramax backing this project [Bride And Prejudice], she is going to be even more prominent.'

But not all projects Chadha has been considering have attracted financiers. Take for instance, The Mistress Of Spices, based on a best-selling novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Chadha showed interest in the movie version over five years ago.

'We just could not find financiers,' she said last year with a sigh.

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