Mississippi Masala is a 1991 romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores interracial romance between African Americans and Indian Americans.
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]
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. Ben Kingsley was originally cast in the role of Mina's father, but he eventually withdrew from the project, prompting the original backers of the film to pull out. Nair was able to gain new funding after Denzel Washington was chosen for the role of Demetrius. She later mentioned she faced substantial pressure from potential backers to select white leads rather than Indians or African Americans.[5] The Mississippi-based scenes were filmed in Mississippi, in the towns of Greenwood, Grenada, Biloxi, and Ocean Springs. The Uganda scenes were filmed in Kampala, Uganda, including in Nair's home.[5][6] Though the Monte Cristo motel was an existing business chosen by Nair and production designer Mitch Epstein for shooting, the production crew added a dark green trim to the exterior to echo the verdant landscape of Uganda.[7]
Reception
The film was positively received by critics. It received a 92% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 73 reviews with the consensus: "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]
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
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – Nominated[9]
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]
Sooni Taraporevala (born 1957) is an Indian screenwriter, photographer and filmmaker who is the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala, The Namesake and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay! (1988), all directed by Mira Nair.[1] She also adapted Rohinton Mistry's novel Such A Long Journey[2] (2000) wrote the films Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar her directorial debut Little Zizou as well as her latest film Yeh Ballet[3] (2020) A Netflix Original that she wrote and directed.
Taraporevala wrote the screenplay for and directed her first feature film, Little Zizou (2007), an ensemble piece set in Mumbai.[4][5] This film explores issues facing the Parsi community to which she belongs. It went on to win the Silver Lotus Award (2009) at the National Film Awards, India, for Best Film on Family Values.[6]
Sarita Catherine Louise Choudhury (born 18 August 1966) is a British actress. She made her screen debut starring in the romantic drama film Mississippi Masala (1991). She later appeared in American and international film productions, include A Perfect Murder (1998), Restless (1998), She Hate Me (2004), The War Within (2005), Lady in the Water (2006), Midnight's Children (2012), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015), A Hologram for the King (2016), and The Green Knight (2021).
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer and director. In a career spanning over four decades, Washington has received numerous accolades, including a Tony Award, two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and two Silver Bears.[1] He is also a 13-time NAACP Image Award winner with four consecutive wins in the Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture award category from 1993-1997 and again from 2000-2003.[2] He was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, and in 2020 The New York Times named him the greatest actor of the 21st century.[3] In 2022, Washington received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[4]
