Mississippi Masala (1991)
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, (more)
- Director(s):
- Mira Nair
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
- Category:
- Romance
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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. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 117 mins
Complete Cast:
- Denzel Washington - Demetrius
- Roshan Seth - Jay
- Charles S. Dutton - Tyrone
- Ranjit Chowdhry - Anil
- Mohan Agashe - Kanti Napkin
- Yvette Hawkins - Aunt Rose
- Dipti Suthar - Chanda
- Nora Boland - 1st Shop-at-Home Anchor Person
- Willy Cobbs - Skillet
- Dillon Rozell Gross - Police Officer
- Tony McGhee - 1st Rapper
- Reverend Fred Matthews - Grandaddy
- Ashok Lath - Harry Patel
- Larry Haggard - Joe
- Sam Sherrill - Phinias T. Turnbull
- Sammy E.D. Senkumba - Taxi Driver
- Alix Henry Sanders - Barber
- Hollis Pippin - Sylvester Artiste III
- Phavin Parbario - Young Jay
- Mira Nair - 1st Gossip
- Muteta Wilberforce - Soldier at Roadblock
- Michael Wawuyo - Soldier on Bus
- Jaimini Thaker - Kanti Bhai
- Buddy St Amant - Biloxi Cop
- Tre'demont Spearman - 3rd Rapper
- Natalie Oliver - Alicia LeShay
- Sahira Nair - Young Mina
- Emanuel Mudara - Young Okelo
- Shung Moo-joo - Chinese Customer
- Jimmy Din - Bharat
- Dewey Buffington - Evangelist
- Immaculate Byakatonda - Okelo's Mother
- Sarita Choudhury - Mina
- Sharmila Tagore - Kinnu
- Joe Seneca - Williben
- Mohan Gokhale - Pontiac
- Tico Wells - Dexter
- Anjan Srivastava - Jammubhai
- J.D. Barrett - 2nd Rapper
- Mahlon Bouldin - Student
- Richard Crick - White Customer
- Kevin McNeil - Clarence
- Konga Mbandu - Okelo
- Bonnie M. Lubega - Teacher
- Cyreio Hughes - D.J.
- Jim Haffey - White Truck Driver
- Rick Senn - Piggly Wiggly Checker
- Alix W. Sanders - Postman
- Rajika Puri - 2nd Gossip
- Karen Pinkston - Mrs. Morgan
- James Dale - Businessman
- Sharon Williams - Tadice
- Jerone Wiggins - James
- Varsha Thaker - Kusumben
- Stacy Swinford - Bubba
- Mayambala Ssekasi - Prison Captain
- Amrit Panesar - Mrs. Bedi
- Joseph Olita - Idi Amin
- Joyce Murrah - Lady at Lusco's
- Argentina Moore - 4th Rapper
- Patsy Garrett - 2nd Shop-at-Home Anchor Person
- E.W. Colvin - Grandcraw
- Ben Burford - Bank Manager
- Sadie Carr - Mildre
- Director(s):
- Mira Nair
- Writer(s):
- Sooni Taraporevala
- Producer(s):
- Lydia Dean Pilcher, Mira Nair, Mitch Epstein
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R(Adult Language, Strong Sexual Content, Adult Situations, Violence, Not For Children, Nudity, Profanity)
- Categories:
- Romance
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
- Check All Versions
- 1992 - Mississippi Masala - NAACP Image Awards - Best Actor
- 1990 - Mississippi Masala - São Paulo International Film Festival - Special Prize
- 1991 - Mississippi Masala - Venice International Film Festival - Osella d'Oro for Best Story and Screenplay
- 1991 - Mississippi Masala - Venice International Film Festival - Osella d'Oro for Best Story and Screenplay
