Chutney Popcorn (1999)

Reena is a young Indian American lesbian who lives and works in New York. Her sister Sarita, who is happily married, discovers that she is infertile. Reena offers to be a surrogate mother ... 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 Indian American lesbian who lives and works in New York. Her sister Sarita, who is happily 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, 22 September 2000, Limited Release

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

Love Turns To Love
Written by Gabriel Cohen
Performed by Valley Of Kings
Courtesy of Incas Records

User Reviews

not worth the time, effort or money.

exaggerated pseudo-"indian" rituals, bad music, language. the lead role, played by the director, is very unattractive and poorly acted. long shots focussing on her hair flying as she rides a mobike in a leather jacket to sad indian elevator music doesn't help.

madhur jaffrey plays the mother, which she does well enough, but this is hardly a film to follow her much applauded acting in, say, various merchant-ivory productions. her daughter sakina plays a pretty elder sister to the lead.

there are a few amusing lines, but i wouldn't bother to see this film, and we had to buy tickets to the coen brothers' "o brother where art thou" to make up for this disappointment.

oh yes, i forgot the plot. doesn't matter, you'll forget it too.