Chutney Popcorn (1999)

Reena is a young, gay Indian-American woman who lives and works in New York. Her sister Sarita, who is married, discovers that she is infertile. Reena offers to be a surrogate mother for ... See full summary »

Director:

Nisha Ganatra

Writers:

Susan Carnival, Nisha Ganatra

Stars:

Nisha Ganatra, Jill Hennessy, Sakina Jaffrey

5 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Nisha Ganatra	...	Reena
Jill Hennessy	...	Lisa
Sakina Jaffrey	...	Sarita
Madhur Jaffrey	...	Meenu
Nick Chinlund	...	Mitch
Cara Buono	...	Janis
Ajay Naidu	...	Raju
Daniella Rich	...	Tiffany
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Monica Bhatia	...	Wedding Girl
Cristal Chindamo	...	Cristal
Saylor Creswell	...	Doctor
Destiny Donovan	...	Wedding Girl
Laura Dubrule	...	Bi-phobia Dyke
Eliza Foss	...	Dr. Brendel
Vinod Ganatra	...	Visiting Auntie

Storyline

Reena is a young, gay Indian-American woman who lives and works in New York. Her sister Sarita, who is married, discovers that she is infertile. Reena offers to be a surrogate mother for her sister's baby, hoping to improve her relationship with their mother, who disapproves of Reena's sexual orientation. Reena has second thoughts when her girlfriend Lisa feels left out.

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Plot Keywords:

female protagonist | conservative parent | lesbian daughter | lesbian protagonist | lesbian relationship | 

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Taglines:

A woman. Her girlfriend. A sister. Her husband. Their baby.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

Nisha Ganatra / Mata Productions, Inc.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 January 2001 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Чатни попкорн

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$605,000, 24 September 2000

Company Credits

Production Co:

First Look International, Mata Productions Inc., Tribeca Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director and co-writer Nisha Ganatra stepped into the lead role of Reena after the actress originally cast in the role quit the production shortly before filming began.

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Quotes

Mitch: Sarita, the probabilty of you getting on a motorcycle is the same probability of Shiva having a penis.
Sarita: Shiva does have a penis. Shiva's a man.
Mitch: No he's not. Everyone knows all Hindu Gods are genderless.
Sarita (calling up her mother): Hi Mom. Shiva's a man, right?...And that would imply that He has a penis, right?...(To Mitch) Yes!

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Connections

Features The Mischievous Ravi (1998)

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Soundtracks

Temporary Insurance
Written by Donna Dresch, Jody Bleyle, Marc Martinez
Performed by Team Dresch

User Reviews

Interesting concept; flawed execution

"Chutney Popcorn" takes on major issues-- lesbian identity, cultural identity, and intergenerational differences. However, I could never believe in the basic situation. This, in turn, prevented me from becoming involved with the characters and their plights.

The protagonist, Reena, played by Director Nisha Ganatra, is a henna artist in a beauty parlor. Her partner, Lisa--I missed her occupation--is played by Jill Hennessy.

Ms. Hennessy's great beauty unbalances the plot. We never understand why these two partners love each other, and what there is about Reena that makes Lisa stay with her through the ups and downs of the fairly predictable plot.

Several other lesbian women hover around the couple, but their place is the film was never clear to me.

Any couple has difficulties in their relationship. No doubt--even in New York City--same-gender couples have more difficulties, and culturally-diverse couples have still more problems.

I give the director credit for focussing on these problems. However, I don't think she really explored the problems in depth. Basically, she placed them before us on the screen, and then solved them for us.

This is a film that I wish had been better. I believe it is worth seeing, but not worth a special effort.