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Mississippi Masala

Play trailer Poster for Mississippi Masala R 1992 1h 58m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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92% Tomatometer 76 Reviews 65% 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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Kat Sachs Chicago Reader Nov 13
It’s lush and nuanced, romantic and edifying. Go to Full Review
Derek Smith Slant Magazine 05/19/2022
Mira Nair’s sophomore feature, Mississippi Masala, lives at the intersection of disparate cultures. Go to Full Review
Vincent Canby New York Times 04/15/2022
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. Go to Full Review
Michael J. Casey Boulder Weekly 12/07/2024
4/5
The heart of this story revolves around the sweet and sexy romance of Mina and Demetrius, and Washington is downright radiant in his youth and command. Go to Full Review
Chance Solem-Pfeifer Willamette Week 02/29/2024
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. Go to Full Review
Ernece B. Kelly The Crisis 12/26/2023
Denzel Washington is the dramatic and romantic center. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Stephen C @bob25009 Aug 13 Funny in 1 hour and 58 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dubbed and subtitled in worldwide studios!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $7,300,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Zach W. @zwreviews Jun 26 Starring Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury, Mississippi Masala encompasses common tropes of a romantic-comedy while also balancing its serious commentary. Though its pace is inconsistent with several moments that feel drawn out, Mississippi Masala does tell an emotionally compelling story with an infatuating romance. Mira Nair captures the beauty of culture and family while also showing the conflict of converging interests and values. Overall, Mississippi Masala may not be a romance that hits as hard for all viewers, but it certainly connected to me personally and emotionally. Denzel Washington is the clear standout performance, but his connection and chemistry with Sarita Choudhary is affectionately intimate. Mississippi Masala uses its comedy to cut through its themes in an elaborate and creative way. See more Jay O May 15 Great film and beautifully shot images of Uganda and the south of America See more Smeera C 07/26/2024 Fabulous storyline about relationships, culture, generational differences, and belonging. Excellent acting all round, especially the main characters. See more Steve D 02/23/2023 Powerful but uncomfortable tale that shows signs of Washington becoming one of the best of all time. See more jon c 02/05/2022 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 See more 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
Black River Productions, Movie Works, Mirabai Films, Cinecom Pictures, Channel Four Films, Studio Canal Souss
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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