Mississippi Masala
Mississippi Masala | |
---|---|
Directed by | Mira Nair |
Written by | Sooni Taraporevala |
Produced by | Mira Nair Studio Canal Souss |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Cinecom Pictures (United States)The Samuel Goldwyn Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | 118 minutes |
Countries | United Kingdom United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $5 million[2] |
Box office | $7,332,515[3] |
Mississippi Masala is a 1991
It was released in France on 18 September 1991, in the United Kingdom on 17 January 1992 and in the U.S. on 5 February 1992. The film grossed $7,332,515 USD at the box office. The film was made a part of The Criterion Collection on May 24, 2022.[4]
Plot
In 1972, dictator Idi Amin enacts a policy of forceful expulsion of Asians from Uganda. Jay, his wife Kinnu, and their daughter Mina, a family of Ugandan Indians residing in Kampala, reluctantly and tearfully leave their home behind and relocate. After spending a few years in England, the family settle in Greenwood, Mississippi to live with family members who own a chain of motels there. Despite the passage of time, Jay is unable to come to terms with his sudden departure from his home country, and cannot fully embrace the American lifestyle. He dreams of one day returning with his family to Kampala. The effects of Amin's dictatorship have caused Jay to become distrustful towards black people.
Mina, on the other hand, has fully assimilated to the American culture and has a diverse group of friends. She feels stifled by her parents' wish to only associate with members of their own community. She falls in love with Demetrius, a local
Jay's wish finally becomes reality when he travels to Kampala to attend a court proceeding on the disposition of his previously confiscated house. While in the country however, he sees how much it has changed and realises that he no longer identifies with the land of his birth. Jay returns to America and relinquishes his long-nurtured dream of returning to Uganda, the place he considered home.
Cast
- Denzel Washington as Demetrius Williams
- Sarita Choudhury as Mina
- Sahira Nair as young Mina
- Roshan Seth as Jay
- Sharmila Tagore as Kinnu
- Charles S. Dutton as Tyrone Williams
- Joe Seneca as Williben Williams
- Ranjit Chowdhry as Anil
- Mohan Gokhale as Pontiac
- Konga Mbadu as Okelo
- Mohan Agashe as Kanti Napkin
- Tico Wells as Dexter Williams
- Yvette Hawkins as Aunt Rose
- Anjan Srivastavas Jammubhai (as Anjan Srivastava)
- Natalie Oliver-Atherton as Alicia LeShay (as Natalie Oliver)
- Mira Nair as Gossip 1
- Rajika Puri as Gossip 2
- Richard Crick as Hotel Customer
- Michael Wawuyo as Soldier on Bus
- Joseph Olita as Idi Amin
Production
The script was written in Brooklyn, New York, after research by Nair, Taraporevala, and their team in Mississippi and Kampala. While doing research in Mississippi, Nair met a carpet cleaner named Demetrius and decided to model the main character after him.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 74 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Sarita Choudhury and Denzel Washington's romantic chemistry lights up the screen in Mississippi Masala, Mira Nair's observant and sexy tale of cultures clashing"[8]
Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote, "Mississippi Masala appears to have been produced on a modest (by Hollywood standards) budget, but it is a big movie in terms of talent, geography and concerns. Racism isn't the major issue, at least on the surface. Mina and Demetrius must fight the sense of cultural dislocation that, for different reasons, has become a part of the heritage of each."[9] Peter Rainer of Los Angeles Times wrote, "Despite the awkwardness of much of the staging, and the unevenness of the script, the movie does give you a sense of real people living real lives."[10]
Awards and honors
- 1993 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture – Denzel Washington
- 1991 São Paulo International Film Festival – Mira Nair, Critics Special Award
- 1991 48th Venice International Film Festival – Golden Osella Best Original Screenplay – Sooni Taraporevala; Golden Ciak/Best Film – Mira Nair
Home media
On May 24, 2022, The Criterion Collection released Mississippi Masala in a newly restored 4K edition on Blu-ray and DVD. The special edition includes new interviews from Nair, Taraporevala, production designer and photographer Mitch Epstein, and cinematographer Edward Lachman.[4]
References
- BBFC. Archivedfrom the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ "Mississippi Masala". AFI|Catalog. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ "Mississippi Masala (2022)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Mississippi Masala". The Criterion Collection. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
- ^ ISBN 1-55783-649-3.
- ^ Asmelash, Leah (12 June 2022). "'Mississippi Masala' was released 30 years ago. Here's how it still resonates with audiences today". CNN. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ^ "Mitch Epstein on MISSISSIPPI MASALA". The Criterion Channel. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ^ "Mississippi Masala". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (5 February 1992). "Review/Film; Indian Immigrants in a Black-and-White Milieu". The New York Times. New York. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- Newspapers.com.
Further reading
- Reddy, Vanita (October 2015). "Afro-Asian Intimacies and the Politics and Aesthetics of Cross-Racial Struggle in Mira Nair's Mississippi Masala". Journal of Asian American Studies. 18 (3): 233–263. S2CID 146321538.
- Singh, Amardeep (2018). The films of Mira Nair: Diaspora Vérité. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781496819116.
- McFerson, Hazel M. (2006). Blacks and Asians in America: Crossings, Conflict and Commonality. Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Academic Press. ISBN 9781594601026.
External links
- Mississippi Masala at IMDb
- Mississippi Masala at AllMovie
- Mississippi Masala at Box Office Mojo
- Mississippi Masala at Rotten Tomatoes
- Mississippi Masala at the TCM Movie Database
- Mississippi Masala: The Ocean of Comings and Goings an essay by Bilal Qureshi at the Criterion Collection
- Official trailer