Mississippi Masala [Blu-ray] [Criterion Collection]

Director: Mira Nair Mira Nair

Overview

Mississippi Masala is a tale of how prejudice makes victims and instigators of us all. In 1972, Indian Jay (Roshan Seth), a resident of Uganda, is forced by the bigoted Amin regime to take his family and flee the country. He vows to hate and distrust all blacks--at least until he is able to reclaim the real estate stolen from him by the Ugandan government. Flash-forward to 1990: Jay and his family have settled in Mississippi. Seth's daughter Mina (Sarit Choudhury) makes the acquaintance of African-American Demetrius (Denzel Washington), the prosperous manager of a carpet-cleaning business. At first attracted to Mina because he is fascinated by her African background, Demetrius slowly falls in love with her. The situation causes Jay to exercise the same racial prejudice by which he was himself victimized. Ironically, Demetrius behaves just as foolishly, blaming Jay's ethnic chauvinism for a drop in his business. Both Jay and Demetrius must learn to bury their pasts and their prejudices to go on with their lives.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/24/2022
UPC:	0715515272216
Original Release:	1991
Source:	Criterion Collection
Language:	English
Time:	1:57:00
Sales rank:	11,339

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Denzel Washington	Demetrius Williams
Sarita Choudhury	Meena
Roshan Seth	Jay
Sharmila Tagore	Kinnu
Charles Dutton	Tyrone
Joe Seneca	Williben
Ranjit Chowdhry	Anil
Konga Mbandu	Okelo
Mohan Gokhale	Pontiac
Mohan Agashe	Kanti Napkin
Tico Wells	Dexter
Yvette Hawkins	Aunt Rose
Anjan Srivastava	Jammubhai
Dipti Suthar	Chanda
Varsha Thaker	Kusumben,Kanti Bhai
Ashok Lath	Harry Patel
Natalie Oliver	Alicia LeShay
Karen Pinkston	Mrs. Morgan
Willy Cobbs	Skillet
Mira Nair	1st Gossip,Young Mina
Rajika Puri	2nd Gossip
Sharon Williams	Tadice
Cyreio Hughes	D.J.
Stacy Swinford	Bubba
Rick Senn	Piggly Wiggly Checker
Jim Haffey	White Truck Driver
Dillon Rozell Gross	Police Officer
Larry Haggard	Joe
E.W. Colvin	Grandcraw
Joyce Murrah	Lady at Lusco's
Kevin McNeil	Clarence
Fred Matthews	Grandaddy
Mahlon Bouldin	Student
Buddy St. Amant	Biloxi Cop
James Dale	Businessman
Ben Burford	Bank Manager
Sam Sherrill	Phinias T. Turnbull
Alix Henry Sanders	Barber,Postman
Jerone Wiggins	James
Sadie Carr	Mildre
Richard Crick	White Customer
Shung Moo Joo	Chinese Customer
Hollis Pippin	Sylvester Artiste III
Dewey Buffington	Evangelist
Tony McGhee	1st Rapper
J.D. Barrett	2nd Rapper
Tre'demont Spearman	3rd Rapper
Argentina Moore	4th Rapper
Nora Boland	1st Shop-at-Home Anchor Person
Patsy Garrett	2nd Shop-at-Home Anchor Person
Michael Wawuyo	Soldier on Bus
Phavin Parbario	Young Jay
Emanuel Mudara	Young Okelo
Immaculate Byakatonda	Okelo's Mother
Amrit Panesar	Mrs. Bedi
Jimmy Din	Bharat
Bonnie M. Lubega	Teacher
Sammy E.D. Senkumba	Taxi Driver
Mayambala Ssekasi	Prison Captain
Joseph Olita	Idi Amin
Muteta Wilberforce	Soldier at Roadblock

Technical Credits

Sooni Taraporevala

Mira Nair	Director,Producer
Sooni Taraporevala	Screenwriter
Michael Nozik	Producer
Cherie Rodgers	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

During a tour of the Deep South in 1988, director Mira Nair learned that a number of Indian immigrants were operating motels in the area, an experience which became the inspiration for this lively, seductive tale of interracial romance. Sarita Choudhury stars as Mina, the daughter of previously affluent Indian immigrants who run a motel in Mississippi. When her voluptuous beauty catches the eye of rug-cleaning contractor Demetrius (Denzel Washington), love blossoms, but the lovers' families are less than enthusiastic. While the film centers on a hot romance, it's also a fascinating study of a unique immigrant community with a richness of detail that borders on the ethnographic, as well as a telling examination of class and status anxiety. The smoldering, sensual attraction between the two leads has such an explosiveness that it's clear they were meant to be together. Yet to her father (Roshan Seth), a former lawyer who still dreams of his beautiful house on a hill in Uganda, this rug man is simply a creature from a lower caste. The director touches gently on the irony of this discrimination being practiced in an area synonymous with racial strife, and by a man who is subject to the same kind of exclusion by whites. Indeed, considering its serious subject, Nair never forgets the humorous aspects of the situation. Washington and Chourhury are wonderful as the almost impossibly attractive couple, and Seth is memorable in a difficult role.

All Movie Guide - Michael Costello