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Mississippi Masala

Play trailer Poster for Mississippi Masala R Released Feb 5, 1992 1h 58m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
92% Tomatometer 74 Reviews 64% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
The vibrant cultures of India, Uganda, and the American South are blended and simmered into a rich and fragrant fusion feast in Mira Nair's luminous look at the complexities of love in the modern melting pot. Years after her Indian family was forced to flee their home in Uganda by the dictatorship of Idi Amin, twentysomething Mina (Sarita Choudhury) finds herself helping to run a motel in the faraway land of Mississippi. It's there that a passionate romance with the charming Black carpet cleaner Demetrius (Denzel Washington) challenges the prejudices of their conservative families and exposes the rifts between the region's Indian and African American communities. Tackling thorny issues of racism, colorism, culture clash, and displacement with big-hearted humor and keen insight, Nair serves up a sweet, sexy, and radical celebration of love's power to break down the barriers between us.
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Mississippi Masala

Mississippi Masala

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Critics Consensus

Sarita Choudhury and Denzel Washington's romantic chemistry lights up the screen in Mississippi Masala, Mira Nair's observant and sexy tale of cultures clashing.

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Critics Reviews

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Derek Smith Slant Magazine Mira Nair’s sophomore feature, Mississippi Masala, lives at the intersection of disparate cultures. May 19, 2022 Full Review Vincent Canby New York Times Mississippi Masala appears to have been produced on a modest (by Hollywood standards) budget, but it is a big movie in terms of talent, geography and concerns. Apr 15, 2022 Full Review Ella Taylor L.A. Weekly The script, though it clips along with a wicked capering wit, is forever explaining itself; the comedy is a broad grin filled with sitcom retreads... Delivered with enormous good humor and affection, all of this works. Apr 15, 2022 Full Review Chance Solem-Pfeifer Willamette Week It’s a nuanced tale of interracial love that tackles colorism, how prejudice functions within a local economy, and the generational pain of cultural displacement. Feb 29, 2024 Full Review Ernece B. Kelly The Crisis Denzel Washington is the dramatic and romantic center. Dec 26, 2023 Full Review Sean Burns WBUR’s Arts & Culture The movie’s not just hot, it’s humid. Jul 22, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Smeera C Fabulous storyline about relationships, culture, generational differences, and belonging. Excellent acting all round, especially the main characters. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/26/24 Full Review Steve D Powerful but uncomfortable tale that shows signs of Washington becoming one of the best of all time. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review jon c Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury play an interracial couple testing the boundaries directed by Mira Nair The movie starts off in 1972 with Roshan Seth as a father, Jay in Africa but because of a political barrier he's no longer welcome The majority of Africans believe only blacks should stay So he and his family decide to pack up and leave Uganda for the United States Jays daughter is Meena, Washington plays Demetrius who meets Meena as an adult in Mississippi 1990 and they develop an mutual attraction for each other Of course being that he's black and she's Indian there's mixed feelings about the whole thing from both sides Both of them face enormous pressure like blacklisting so they decide to pursue each other free of constraints This is a love story wrapped in histories of postcolonial displacement, settler colonialism, and the shadows of Jim Crow, it offers an account of the cruel circuitous routes of displacement and migration to the American South The film asks us to be attentive not only to this story of love but also to the policing of women's sexuality, the competing status of "colored nations" (as W. E. B. Du Bois put it) under British and American colonialisms, and the alliances formed and broken at the nexus of race and capital in the US It also succeeds examining race, migration and loss of belonging Its politics are still so timely and very brave to hear the things we were outrageous enough to say then The movie holds a mirror to the bigotry the Indian community displays while itself having been a victim of racism by white Americans, it's not just Demetrius that faces mistreatment every day but even Meena is called out for her skin color by other Indians It's true that cruelty has no color, if we don't tell our stories no one else will, racism is passed down like recipes, you'll be mad forever if you don't know how to do it, people always look at others like on a bus expecting them to fall off, the world is not so quick to change, home is where the heart is Washington and Choudhry are the best part of the movie with their undeniable chemistry and sharing of views of how the world sees them Meena's father gets some good development too given he doesn't want to die in a strangers country, he always wanted to change the world but it didn't give him a chance early enough A part of him will always be India but also African, and given his daughter is in love with a black man he has to learn to accept the changes An innocent and wise viewing that looks at ethnic romance It successfully dissects the very real, racist dynamics between minority groups often pitted against each other in a way that's not condescending I'm happy the ending was satisfactory on a deep level too Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review michael a Really solid movie. Attempts to place blame on everyone, not just the usual suspects, and a tender love story in the middle. Nicely done. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member The best romance movie ever made! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Perhaps Mr. Washington underperformed here. It certainly feels slightly empty, this film. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Mississippi Masala

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Movie Info

Synopsis The vibrant cultures of India, Uganda, and the American South are blended and simmered into a rich and fragrant fusion feast in Mira Nair's luminous look at the complexities of love in the modern melting pot. Years after her Indian family was forced to flee their home in Uganda by the dictatorship of Idi Amin, twentysomething Mina (Sarita Choudhury) finds herself helping to run a motel in the faraway land of Mississippi. It's there that a passionate romance with the charming Black carpet cleaner Demetrius (Denzel Washington) challenges the prejudices of their conservative families and exposes the rifts between the region's Indian and African American communities. Tackling thorny issues of racism, colorism, culture clash, and displacement with big-hearted humor and keen insight, Nair serves up a sweet, sexy, and radical celebration of love's power to break down the barriers between us.
Director
Mira Nair
Producer
Michael Nozik, Mira Nair
Distributor
The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Production Co
Studio Canal Souss, Black River Productions, Channel Four Films, Mirabai Films, Cinecom Pictures, Movie Works
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 5, 1992, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Apr 15, 2022
Release Date (DVD)
May 27, 2003
Box Office (Gross USA)
$7.3M
Runtime
1h 58m
Sound Mix
Stereo, Surround
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