MUMBAI (Reuters) - An Indian cook falls in love with a Thai masseuse in filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor's latest project - a romantic comedy about love knowing no boundaries.

"Bombay to Bangkok" is the director's attempt at depicting how compatibility between lovers can transcend language barriers and also sustain a relationship.

"It is a story of a cook who runs away to Bangkok after stealing something from local gangsters and meets a massage girl there and falls in love with her," says actor Shreyas Talpade, who plays the cook's role.

Talpade says the film will be a fresh take on the romance genre, the mainstay of hundreds of Bollywood films.

"It will show how their relationship develops despite them not understanding any word that they speak," he said.

"Bombay to Bangkok" opens on Jan. 18.