"Nina’s Heavenly Delights" is a delightful romantic film that focuses on a quirky Indian family living in Scotland. The film is filled with colorful characters, including a flamboyant queen that serves as the confidant of the main character, Nina.

Basically a piece of arty fluff, this movie was the most appealing comedy I saw at the 2006 Chicago International Film Festival.

The film begins when the prodigal daughter Nina (Shelly Conn) returns to her family after her dad’s death. She had left in order to avoid an arranged marriage with a bland restaurant owner.

Nina’s family also owns a restaurant, but it turns out that the dad had lost half of it on a bet. Nina refuses to sell the restaurant right away because she wants to win a cooking contest, and one of the other contestants is her ex-fiancée who wants to buy the restaurant.

In order to win she enlists the help of Lisa, the daughter of the bookie that won part of the restaurant in a bet. The pair spends a lot of time gazing at each other with longing, then they begin a spicy romantic relationship. Nina is afraid that her mom will not accept it, but if she does not spill the beans, Lisa may leave her.

The film’s Kenya born director, Pratibha Parma has a background in videos, and one of the film’s best moments is a hilarious music video that appears at the end of the film, and includes the dead father character.

"Nina’s Heavenly Delights" is a joyful, life-affirming film that is bound to bring a smile to the lips of even the most jaded viewers. In addition, it is easily the best Scottish-Indian, lesbian romantic film in English that I have ever seen.