Mohan Gokhale Movies

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, Rovi

This charming fable in the genre of New Indian Cinema brings up the issue of the Indian caste system and its entrenched beliefs from several different perspectives. Once upon a time, the story begins, there was a prince who was taken out of the palace at birth by his evil aunt and thought to have died. Instead, he is adopted and raised by a low-caste couple. His lot in life is one with theirs and when he grows up, he champions his family to stop the suffering they have endured because of their particular caste status -- an action of a true prince. There are two versions of the ending of the Folk Tale with the audience welcome to choose their favorite. Enhanced by interesting costumes and incisive dialogue, the fable combines comedy and social commentary as it moves through its classic tale. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi