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

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

An interesting look at non-traditional Indian family relationships...

As an Indian American and a female, I was pleasantly delighted by this movie. I found it to be very funny and especially interesting because of the lesbian themes. It surprised me to see this in the movie, because Indians generally feel uncomfortable talking about homosexuality at all. I don't think it's necessarily a bias or prejudice against it, just conservatism.

I didn't really relate to any of the characters in the movie, mostly because there were too many characters and little development of any of their personalities. But I adored Madhury Jaffrey, who was very natural and realistic as the mother. She reminds me so much of my own mother, and many of the things she says to her two daughters about marriage and family are comments my own mother's made to me. It was strangely comforting to see the ambivalence that Indians born and raised in the US feel in trying to maintain their culture while being true to themselves. Until now, I haven't seen it discussed so frankly and honestly in a movie.

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