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Mississippi Masala

 
Mississippi Masala

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Mississippi Masala



 
 
Mississippi Masala is a romance
Romance film

While most films have some aspect of Romantic love between characters a romance film can be loosely defined as any film in which the central Plot revolves around the romantic involvement of the story's protagonists....
 comedy-drama
Comedy-drama

Comedy-drama, also called dramedy, dramatic comedy, or seriocomedy, is a style of television and film in which there is an equal or nearly equal balance of humor and serious content....
 film directed by Mira Nair
Mira Nair

Mira Nair is an Indian-American film director and Film producer based in New York. Her production company is Mirabai Films.She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University....
, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala
Sooni Taraporevala

Sooni Taraporevala is an internationally acclaimed screenwriter and photographer, currently based in India. She is best known as the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala, The Namesake and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay, all directed by Mira Nair....
, starring Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington

Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an United States actor and film director. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Melvin B....
, Sharmila Tagore
Sharmila Tagore

See Tagore for disambiguationSharmila Tagore is a Cinema of India Actor from Bengal. She has won several National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards for her performances....
, and Roshan Seth
Roshan Seth

'Roshan Seth' is a Genie Award winning and British Academy Film Awards nominated Indian actor, who appears mainly in British and American films. He is most well-known for his critically acclaimed performances in the films Gandhi , Mississippi Masala, Not Without My Daughter, My Beautiful Laundrette, Indiana Jones and the Temp...
. The film explores interracial romance between African-Americans and India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
n-Americans in the U.S., and takes place in Mississippi
Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
. It was released in the U.S. on February 5, 1992, after being released in France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 on September 18, 1991 and in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 on January 17, 1992. The film grossed $85 million at the box office.

Story
A third-generation India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
n-Uganda
Uganda

The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania....
n family residing in Kampala
Kampala

Kampala is the capital city of Uganda. With a population of 1,208,544 it is the largest city in Uganda. It is coterminous with the Kampala . The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Central, Kawempe, Makindye, Nakawa and Rubaga....
, is expelled from the country in 1972 by the Idi Amin
Idi Amin

Idi Amin Dada , commonly known as Idi Amin, was a Ugandan Military dictatorship and the President of Uganda of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colony regiment, the King's African Rifles, in 1946, and advanced to the rank of Major General and Commander of the Ugandan Army....
 regime.






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Encyclopedia


Mississippi Masala is a romance
Romance film

While most films have some aspect of Romantic love between characters a romance film can be loosely defined as any film in which the central Plot revolves around the romantic involvement of the story's protagonists....
 comedy-drama
Comedy-drama

Comedy-drama, also called dramedy, dramatic comedy, or seriocomedy, is a style of television and film in which there is an equal or nearly equal balance of humor and serious content....
 film directed by Mira Nair
Mira Nair

Mira Nair is an Indian-American film director and Film producer based in New York. Her production company is Mirabai Films.She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University....
, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala
Sooni Taraporevala

Sooni Taraporevala is an internationally acclaimed screenwriter and photographer, currently based in India. She is best known as the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala, The Namesake and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay, all directed by Mira Nair....
, starring Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington

Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an United States actor and film director. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Melvin B....
, Sharmila Tagore
Sharmila Tagore

See Tagore for disambiguationSharmila Tagore is a Cinema of India Actor from Bengal. She has won several National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards for her performances....
, and Roshan Seth
Roshan Seth

'Roshan Seth' is a Genie Award winning and British Academy Film Awards nominated Indian actor, who appears mainly in British and American films. He is most well-known for his critically acclaimed performances in the films Gandhi , Mississippi Masala, Not Without My Daughter, My Beautiful Laundrette, Indiana Jones and the Temp...
. The film explores interracial romance between African-Americans and India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
n-Americans in the U.S., and takes place in Mississippi
Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
. It was released in the U.S. on February 5, 1992, after being released in France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 on September 18, 1991 and in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 on January 17, 1992. The film grossed $85 million at the box office.

Story


A third-generation India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
n-Uganda
Uganda

The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania....
n family residing in Kampala
Kampala

Kampala is the capital city of Uganda. With a population of 1,208,544 it is the largest city in Uganda. It is coterminous with the Kampala . The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Central, Kawempe, Makindye, Nakawa and Rubaga....
, is expelled from the country in 1972 by the Idi Amin
Idi Amin

Idi Amin Dada , commonly known as Idi Amin, was a Ugandan Military dictatorship and the President of Uganda of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colony regiment, the King's African Rifles, in 1946, and advanced to the rank of Major General and Commander of the Ugandan Army....
 regime. The father, Jay (Roshan Seth
Roshan Seth

'Roshan Seth' is a Genie Award winning and British Academy Film Awards nominated Indian actor, who appears mainly in British and American films. He is most well-known for his critically acclaimed performances in the films Gandhi , Mississippi Masala, Not Without My Daughter, My Beautiful Laundrette, Indiana Jones and the Temp...
) moves with wife, Kinnu (Sharmila Tagore
Sharmila Tagore

See Tagore for disambiguationSharmila Tagore is a Cinema of India Actor from Bengal. She has won several National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards for her performances....
) and daughter, Mina (Sarita Choudhury
Sarita Choudhury

Sarita Catherine Louise Choudhury is an India actress....
) to Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood, Mississippi

Greenwood is the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi and 130 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee, Tennessee....
. to live with family members who own a chain of motels there.

In 1990, 24-year-old Mina, who cleans at Anil's (Ranjit Chowdhry
Ranjit Chowdhry

Ranjit Chowdhry is an actor of Indian descent, with around forty movies and television performances to his credit, besides acting in theatre as well ....
) family's motel (the Monte Cristo), falls in love with Demetrius (Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington

Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an United States actor and film director. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Melvin B....
), a local African American
African American

African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the Black people populations of Africa....
 carpet cleaner. The respective families erupt in turmoil after the pair are confronted by members of the Indian family during a weekend of pleasure in Biloxi
Biloxi, Mississippi

Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2000 United States Census recorded the population as 50,644....
.

Ultimately, the two families cannot come to terms with the inter-racial pair, who flee together in Demetrius' van. Both families need to move on, both emotionally and physically, in order to grow. Jay also needs to change. After a brief return to Kampala to attend a court proceeding on the disposition of his confiscated Ugandan house, Jay relinquishes his long-nurtured dream of returning to Uganda, the place he considered home.

The script was written in Brooklyn, NY after extensive research by Nair, Taraporevala, and their team, in Mississippi and Uganda. The Mississippi based scenes were filmed in Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood, Mississippi

Greenwood is the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi and 130 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee, Tennessee....
. The motel used in the filming of the motel scenes still stands next to the railroad crossing on US Highway 82 in Greenwood. The Mississippi based scenes were filmed in Grenada, Mississippi
Grenada, Mississippi

Grenada is a city in Grenada County, Mississippi, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,879 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Grenada County, Mississippi....
 at The Monte Cristo hotel, which was located on U.S. Hwy 51 in Grenada, Mississippi. A Renasant Bank stands on the location of the original hotel, which was demolished in the late nineties.

Cast

  • Denzel Washington
    Denzel Washington

    Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an United States actor and film director. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Melvin B....
     - Demetrius Williams
  • Sarita Choudhury
    Sarita Choudhury

    Sarita Catherine Louise Choudhury is an India actress....
     - Mina
  • Roshan Seth
    Roshan Seth

    'Roshan Seth' is a Genie Award winning and British Academy Film Awards nominated Indian actor, who appears mainly in British and American films. He is most well-known for his critically acclaimed performances in the films Gandhi , Mississippi Masala, Not Without My Daughter, My Beautiful Laundrette, Indiana Jones and the Temp...
     - Jay
  • Sharmila Tagore
    Sharmila Tagore

    See Tagore for disambiguationSharmila Tagore is a Cinema of India Actor from Bengal. She has won several National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards for her performances....
     - Kinnu
  • Charles S. Dutton
    Charles S. Dutton

    Charles Stanley Dutton is an American actor and director....
     - Tyrone Williams
  • Joe Seneca
    Joe Seneca

    Joe Seneca was an American film and television actor who had a lengthy Hollywood career, portraying bit parts in many major films and television sitcoms spanning from the 1970s to the 1990s....
     - Williben Williams
  • Ranjit Chowdhry
    Ranjit Chowdhry

    Ranjit Chowdhry is an actor of Indian descent, with around forty movies and television performances to his credit, besides acting in theatre as well ....
     - Anil
  • Joseph Olita
    Joseph Olita

    Joseph Olita is a Kenyan actor who portrayed Idi Amin in the films Rise and Fall of Idi Amin and Mississippi Masala . He also played 1st Policeman in Sheena ....
     - Idi Amin
  • Mohan Gokhale
    Mohan Gokhale

    Mohan Gokhale was an Indian film, television and theater actor who has worked in art films such as Sparsh , Bhavni Bhavai and Mirch Masala....
     - Pontiac
  • Mohan Agashe
    Mohan Agashe

    Mohan Agashe is an Indian theatre and film actor. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1996 ....
     - Kanti Napkin


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