Mississippi Masala (1991)

An Indian family is expelled from Uganda when Idi Amin takes power. They move to Mississippi and time passes. The Indian daughter falls in love with a black man, and the respective families... See full summary »

Director:

Mira Nair

Writer:

Sooni Taraporevala

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, Roshan Seth

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denzel Washington	...	Demetrius Williams
Sarita Choudhury	...	Meena
Roshan Seth	...	Jay (Meena's dad)
Sharmila Tagore	...	Kinnu
Charles S. Dutton	...	Tyrone Williams
Joe Seneca	...	Williben Williams
Ranjit Chowdhry	...	Anil
Mohan Gokhale	...	Pontiac
Mohan Agashe	...	Kanti Napkin
Tico Wells	...	Dexter Williams
Yvette Hawkins	...	Aunt Rose
Anjan Srivastav	...	Jammubhai (as Anjan Srivastava)
Dipti Suthar	...	Chanda (Anil's wife)
Varsha Thaker	...	Kusumben
Ashok Lath	...	Harry Patel

Storyline

An Indian family is expelled from Uganda when Idi Amin takes power. They move to Mississippi and time passes. The Indian daughter falls in love with a black man, and the respective families have to come to terms with it.

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Plot Keywords:

uganda | mississippi | motel | love | africa | 

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Taglines:

Romeo and Juliet had it easy.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sensuality and language

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 February 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mississippi Masala

Filming Locations:

Biloxi, Mississippi, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$7,310,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Black River Productions, Channel Four Films, Cinecom Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joseph Olita, who plays Idi Amin, also played him in Amin: The Rise and Fall (1981).

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Goofs

When the family is leaving on the bus to the airport, there is a parrot on Okelo's shoulder. In the close-up of Okelo, the parrot is missing.

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Quotes

Okelo: You gave an interview on BBC saying that Amin was evil. Are you mad? What about Kinnu? What about Meena? Do you ever think of them?
Jay: What should I have done? Remain silent? That is the coward's way!
Okelo: Don't talk to me about cowards! That's what you are. You're not leaving because you're scared to leave. You are scared of leaving Uganda.
Jay: Why should I go? Why should I go? Okelo, this is my home.
Okelo: Not anymore, Jay. Africa is for Africans. *Black* Africans.

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Crazy Credits

Demetrius and Mina standing by the side of the road, dressed in traditional costumes of respective culture.

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Connections

Referenced in Saved by the Bell: The New Class: A Perfect Lindsay (1994)

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Soundtracks

Ton Of Joy
Performed by Otis Redding
Courtesy of Atco Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

A true depiction of Indians in America.

This movie showed one thing that is totally true about many Indians in America (I don't know about England). Many Indians who immigrate to this country start acting and behaving like they are white. Sometimes they forget that they are not even white (I am guilty of that sometimes too, probably even more because I grew up here). Denzel Washington points that out to Roshan Seth very well in this movie. "You are no more than a few shades from my complexion." And then Jammu point out to Anil how he has started to act American (probably means white American), and Anil says, "So what? I'm living in America! You don't like it? Go back to India!"

Overall, it's a really good movie. I like it even more than "Monsoon Wedding," and I feel this movie was very underrated. My seventh grade teacher recommended this movie a long time ago (actually a few mos. after I saw it myself.) I myself have been recommending it to some of my non-Indian college friends who have seen Monsoon Wedding.