Mississippi Masala

When Mississippi Masala opened it was a B movie or was treated as such. Denzil Washington was riding high with his Malcolm X role in the news. I wondered what made him decide on such a low key movie. I got hold of the cassette and saw it. Then I knew why. The plot is excellent and this must have been the reason why other notable actors (Charles Dutton comes to mind; and the actors who played Meena's Father (Rohan Seth, I think, who came in Gandhi), and the actor who played Denzil's father. The other actors were magnificent and were perfect for their parts. I particular enjoyed Sunil and friends and Denzil's brother.

What was most admirable in this movie is the writer/director's ability to merge three cultures (Uganda, India, & Southern USA) into an enchanting love story. Mira Nir has made her mark with this movie. Not surprising the critics loved it.

I New York the movie opened quietly then quickly became popular by word-of-mouth. Many women went to see Denzil but came away enjoying a unique and interesting love story with racism from another angle as it's strong undertone. Go see it if you haven't already.

It is rare for what amounts to a simple love story to cover as much ground as this film ultimately does.

There's a political layer, with the 1970s era unrest in Uganda being a primary driver and motivator for much of the other decisions made by the characters. There's a racial layer, with racial tension in Africa spilling over into reciprocal racial tension in Mississippi in turn. There's a layer for interpersonal relationships as well, with Demetrius and Meena's growing love and the estranged friendship with her father and his friend back in Uganda.

Weaving all these layers together requires a very deft suite of actors and a very deft director and, for the most part, everyone is up to snuff. There are some very high quality acting performances indeed in this film.

Ultimately, the film is about the first generation of an immigrant family struggling to come to grips with their diminished situation. Some members of this first generation embrace the change and attempt to adopt many of the idioms and customs of their new home, and the second generation most definitely does this, but the patriarch of the family struggles to accept that his life in Uganda is essentially gone. The entire film builds to a climax that ultimately has nothing to do with Demetrius and Meena's relationship.

The real climax is the father's ultimately forced acceptance of his new situation. The interracial relationship is the driver, but the destination is purely internal for the family patriarch.

A nod has to go to Denzel Washington for opting into this small-budget film of exceeding quality when his star was clearly on the rise and such films could easily have been deemed beneath him. Choudry is positively mesmerizing, and she steals many scenes with her subtle facial expressions and body language. Clearly, she was a gem that needed a better setting for her later career.

I'd love to give a cast award, because the cast is almost univerally above average, which is very rare for a film. Some very bit parts become part of a larger tapestry that is very worth one's time to witness.

This is a very enjoyable, NON-FORMULA film. It manages to show the inescapable ironies of rascism from a variety of viewpoints. The love story is earthy and sensual, yet tasteful as well.

After Salaam Bombay expectations run high with the next outing being "Mississippi Masala" for Mira Nair. And in all honesty "Mississippi Masala" has a soul in itself. There are many layers in the movie which are subtly dealt with and handled succinctly. For starters the plot predominantly centred around Indian family one would expect the usual "laugh-at-me" tracks and should admit it doesn't succumb to it. It's neither taking mickey out of the Black community. Both the sides of the coin are impartially moderated. The director deserves kudos for efficiently managing to do the tight-rope walking.

Sarita Chowdhary:: Essentially the movie is woman-centric and hence she gets the meaty-pie. Has various shades to her role and Sarita seem to be at ease in the garb of Meena. As rightly justified in the movie, she could be easily mistaken for a Mexican. And Mira Nair does portray her "Mistress of Spices" quite well.

Denzel Washington:: His performance surely makes you feel that he delivers goods that is class-apart. The writing should take the blame for any shortcoming on developing his character otherwise he is nothing short of cent percent.

Roshan Seth:: For some reason, I was constantly getting the feeling that I am watching a character who is masked under Naseeruddin Shah. Perhaps the role was written for Naseer in the first place. And yes, Roshan Seth gets the diction spot on.

Sharmila:: Doesn't get much but she is good in her own right.

The other Bollywood crew lend adequate support (Mohan Gokhale, Mohan Agashe & Anjan Srivastava).

Music by L. Subramaniam neatly blends with the narration.

The only part which deserved better writing was the way the lead characters meet and start to like each other which I would safely say is a minor aberration which can be ignored.

Nonetheless, its a good watch.

Some may think that all it is about is the race relations between Asian Indians and Blacks in Southern USA. I saw it as collection of stories, each running along its own thread while impacting others at the same time. There is a love story between a Black guy and an Asian Indian (by way of Africa) girl, there is a man trying to regain his lost homeland (which some may consider artificial), there are others who are trying to fit into the new-new-South, a younger brother who is a bother and a motel owner who doesn't understand the people around him. All in all, a well knit story.