Mississippi Masala
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Mississippi Masala
Plot
Mississippi Masala is a tale of how prejudice makes victims and instigators of us all. In 1972, Indian Jay (Roshan Seth), a resident of Uganda, is forced by the bigoted Amin regime to take his family and flee the country. He vows to hate and distrust all blacks--at least until he is able to reclaim the real estate stolen from him by the Ugandan government. Flash-forward to 1990: Jay and his family have settled in Mississippi. Seth's daughter Mina (Sarit Choudhury) makes the acquaintance of African-American Demetrius (Denzel Washington), the prosperous manager of a carpet-cleaning business. At first attracted to Mina because he is fascinated by her African background, Demetrius slowly falls in love with her. The situation causes Jay to exercise the same racial prejudice by which he was himself victimized. Ironically, Demetrius behaves just as foolishly, blaming Jay's ethnic chauvinism for a drop in his business. Both Jay and Demetrius must learn to bury their pasts and their prejudices to go on with their lives. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviReview
During a tour of the Deep South in 1988, director Mira Nair learned that a number of Indian immigrants were operating motels in the area, an experience which became the inspiration for this lively, seductive tale of interracial romance. Sarita Choudhury stars as Mina, the daughter of previously affluent Indian immigrants who run a motel in Mississippi. When her voluptuous beauty catches the eye of rug-cleaning contractor Demetrius (Denzel Washington), love blossoms, but the lovers' families are less than enthusiastic. While the film centers on a hot romance, it's also a fascinating study of a unique immigrant community with a richness of detail that borders on the ethnographic, as well as a telling examination of class and status anxiety. The smoldering, sensual attraction between the two leads has such an explosiveness that it's clear they were meant to be together. Yet to her father (Roshan Seth), a former lawyer who still dreams of his beautiful house on a hill in Uganda, this rug man is simply a creature from a lower caste. The director touches gently on the irony of this discrimination being practiced in an area synonymous with racial strife, and by a man who is subject to the same kind of exclusion by whites. Indeed, considering its serious subject, Nair never forgets the humorous aspects of the situation. Washington and Chourhury are wonderful as the almost impossibly attractive couple, and Seth is memorable in a difficult role. ~ Michael Costello, RoviCast
- Denzel Washington - Demetrius
- Sarita Choudhury - Mina
- Roshan Seth - Jay
- Sharmila Tagore - Kinnu
- Charles S. Dutton - Tyrone
- Joe Seneca - Williben
Credit
Jefferson Sage - Art Director, Hope Hanafin - Costume Designer, Susan Lyall - Costume Designer, Mira Nair - Director, Roberto Silvi - Editor, L. Subramaniam - Composer (Music Score), Mitch Epstein - Production Designer, Edward Lachman - Cinematographer, Mitch Epstein - Producer, Mira Nair - Producer, Michael Nozik - Producer, Lydia Dean Pilcher - Producer, Jeanette Scott - Set Designer, Sooni Taraporevala - Screenwriter| Mississippi Innocence (2011 Film), Mississippi Gambler (1942 Film) | |
| Mississippi Mass Choir: Amazing Love (2002 Film), Mississippi Mass Choir: God Gets the Glory (1991 Film) |
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:
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Mississippi Masala
- Artist: Original Soundtrack
- Release Date: 1992
- Total Time: 65:03
- Type: Soundtrack
- Genre: Soundtrack
Review
The soundtrack to Mira Nair's 1992 social drama set against the aftermath of the Ugandan Asian exodus is noteworthy for its original score by the Southern Indian classical violinist Dr. L. Subramaniam and its non-Indian tracks. Untypically for an Indian soundtrack Subramaniam mixes Smiley Lewis, Otis Redding, a token Mukesh (his hit "Mera Joota Hai Japani") and others. An Indian rather than a filmi soundtrack. ~ Ken Hunt, Rovi| Mississippi Magic (2001 Album by Terry Evans) | |
| Mississippi Maserati Breakdown (2000 Album by Bill Turner & Blue Smoke) |
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Mississippi Masala
| Mississippi Masala | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Mira Nair |
| Produced by | Mira Nair Studio Canal Souss |
| Written by | Sooni Taraporevala |
| Starring | Denzel Washington Roshan Seth Sarita Choudhury |
| Music by | L. Subramaniam |
| Cinematography | Edward Lachman |
| Editing by | Roberto Silvi |
| Distributed by | MGM |
| Release date(s) | France: 18 September 1991 United Kingdom: 17 January 1992 United States: 5 February 1992 |
| Running time | 118 minutes |
| Country | United States United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8 million |
| Box office | $7,310,000 (USA) |
Mississippi Masala is a romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores interracial romance between African Americans and Indian Americans in the United States.
It was released in the U.S. on 5 February 1992, after being released in France on 18 September 1991 and in the United Kingdom on 17 January 1992. The film grossed $7,310,000 USD at the box office.
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Contents
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Plot
A third-generation Ugandan Indian family residing in Kampala, is expelled from the country in 1972 by the Idi Amin regime. The father, Jay (Roshan Seth) moves with wife, Kinnu (Sharmila Tagore) and daughter, Mina (Sarita Choudhury) to Greenwood, Mississippi to live with family members who own a chain of motels there. Kinnu obtains work in a liquor store.
In 1990, 24-year-old Mina, who cleans at Anil's (Ranjit Chowdhry) family's motel (the Monte Cristo), falls in love with Demetrius (Denzel Washington), a local African American self-employed carpet cleaner. The respective families erupt in turmoil after the pair are discovered and confronted by members of the Indian family during a clandestine weekend of pleasure in Biloxi.
Ultimately, the two families cannot come to terms with the interracial pair, who flee the state together in Demetrius' van. After a brief return to Kampala to attend a court proceeding on the disposition of his confiscated Ugandan house, Jay relinquishes his long-nurtured dream of returning to Uganda, the place he considered home.
Production
The script was written in Brooklyn, New York after extensive research by Nair, Taraporevala, and their team in Mississippi and Uganda. While doing research in Mississippi, Nair met a carpet cleaner named Demetrius and decided to model the main character after him. Ben Kingsley was originally cast in the role of Mina's father, but he eventually withdrew from the project, prompting the original backers of the film to pull out as well. She was able to gain new funding after Denzel Washington was chosen for the role of Demetrius. She later mentioned she faced substantial pressure from potential backers to select white leads rather than Indians or African Americans.[1] The Mississippi-based scenes were filmed in Mississippi, in the towns of Greenwood, Grenada, Biloxi, and Ocean Springs. The Uganda scenes were filmed in Kampala, Uganda, including in Nair's home.[1]
Cast
- Denzel Washington - Demetrius Williams
- Sarita Choudhury - Mina
- Roshan Seth - Jay
- Sharmila Tagore - Kinnu
- Charles S. Dutton - Tyrone Williams
- Joe Seneca - Williben Williams
- Ranjit Chowdhry - Anil
- Joseph Olita - Idi Amin
- Mohan Gokhale - Pontiac
- Mohan Agashe - Kanti Napkin
- Tico Wells - Dexter Williams
- Yvette Hawkins - Aunt Rose
- Anjan Srivastav - Jammubhai (as Anjan Srivastava)
- Mira Nair - Gossip 1
- Rajika Puri - Gossip 2
- Richard Crick - Hotel Customer
References
- ^ a b Muir, John Kenneth (2006). "Mississippi Masala (1991) and The Perez Family (1995)". Mercy in her eyes: the films of Mira Nair. Hal Leonard. pp. 71–106. ISBN 1-55783-649-3.
External links
- Mississippi Masala at AllRovi
- Mississippi Masala at Box Office Mojo
- Mississippi Masala at the Internet Movie Database
- Mississippi Masala at Rotten Tomatoes
- Mississippi Masala at the TCM Movie Database
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AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums
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Mentioned in
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Roshan Seth
(Actor, Drama/Comedy Drama)
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(Blues Artist, '60s-2000s)
Mira Nair
(Director, Writer, Actor, Drama/Comedy Drama)
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