Mississippi Masala (1991)

Director:

Mira Nair

Writer:

Sooni Taraporevala (writer)

Release Date:

5 February 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Passion. Tradition. Mix It Up.

Plot:

An Indian family is expelled from Uganda when Idi Amin takes power. They move to Mississippi and time passes...

Plot Keywords:

Uganda | Love | Motel | Africa | Mississippi

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Denzel Washington	...	Demetrius Williams
Sarita Choudhury	...	Meena
Roshan Seth	...	Jay (Meena's dad)
Sharmila Tagore	...	Kinnu (Jay's wife)
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

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | UK:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Biloxi, Mississippi, USA

Company:

Black River Productions

Trivia:

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

Goofs:

Errors in geography: There are numerous problems with the map displayed when the family is leaving Africa. Florence is shown as a seaside town in Italy; Hartford, CT is placed too far East; Providence, RI is too far West; Durham, NC is placed too far Northwest and right on the Virginia border, which it isn't.

Quotes:

Williben Williams: What's wrong with you, boy? Don't you know the rules?
Demetrius Williams: Daddy, I didn't do nothing wrong.
Williben Williams: Mr. Morgan helped you get that loan to start up this business. Now, how am I going to be able to show my face around them after this?
Aunt Rose: That Mr. Morgan, he didn't give his own money. All he did was recommend Demetrius to the bank! See, all you and the rest of them want is for him to know his place and stay in it! But the days of slavery, they're over, Williben!
Dexter Williams: Yeah, boy!
Aunt Rose: *Hush!*
Dexter Williams: [falls silent]

Movie Connections:

Features Nigahen: Nagina Part II (1989)

Soundtrack:

Congratulations

one of those movies that you don't usually expect

In the early 20th century, the English government moved several people from India to Uganda to build the railroad. Some of the Indians stayed and became lawyers, physicians, etc. When Idi Amin came to power in the early 1970s, he expelled all non-black Africans. Some of the Indians moved to Mississippi and began running motels.

"Mississippi Masala" focuses on this. Mina (Sarita Choudhury) is the daughter of an Indian family who fled Uganda for Mississippi. She develops a relationship with Demetrius (Denzel Washington), a local man. Her family does not approve of her dating a black man, and Demetrius' friends don't like him dating an Indian woman.

The movie shows many things, in particular how both the blacks and the Indians were displaced from their ancestral lands. Also, it shows how the blacks are racist towards the Indians and vice versa. As Demetrius reminds Mina's father: "Your skin is just a couple of shades from mine." Regardless of whether or not these sorts of things happen a lot, the movie does a very good job with it all.