Mira Nair

Mississippi Masala

Mississippi Masala

The vibrant cultures of India, Uganda, and the American South come together in Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala, a luminous look at the complexities of love in the modern melting pot. Years after her Indian family was forced to flee their home in Uganda by the dictatorship of Idi Amin, twentysomething Mina (Sarita Choudhury) spends her days cleaning rooms in an Indian-run motel in Mississippi. When she falls for the charming Black carpet cleaner Demetrius (Denzel Washington), their passionate romance challenges the prejudices of both of their families and exposes the rifts between the region’s Indian and African American communities. Tackling thorny issues of racism, colorism, culture clash, and displacement with bighearted humor and keen insight, Nair serves up a sweet, sexy, and deeply satisfying celebration of love’s power.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 1991
  • 117 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.85:1
  • English, Swahili
  • Spine #1127

Director-Approved Blu-Ray Special Edition Features

  • New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director Mira Nair and director of photography Ed Lachman, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • New audio commentary featuring Nair
  • New conversation between actor Sarita Choudhury and film critic Devika Girish
  • New interviews with Lachman, screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala, and production designer and photographer Mitch Epstein
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Bilal Qureshi and excerpts from Nair’s production journal

New cover by Phyx Design

Purchase Options

Director-Approved Blu-Ray Special Edition Features

  • New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director Mira Nair and director of photography Ed Lachman, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • New audio commentary featuring Nair
  • New conversation between actor Sarita Choudhury and film critic Devika Girish
  • New interviews with Lachman, screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala, and production designer and photographer Mitch Epstein
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Bilal Qureshi and excerpts from Nair’s production journal

New cover by Phyx Design

Mississippi Masala
Cast
Denzel Washington
Demetrius
Sarita Choudhury
Mina
Roshan Seth
Jay
Sharmila Tagore
Kinnu
Charles S. Dutton
Tyrone
Joe Seneca
Williben
Konga Mbandu
Okelo
Sahira Nair
Young Mina
Ashok Lath
Harry Patel
Credits
Director
Mira Nair
Produced by
Michael Nozik
Produced by
Mira Nair
Written by
Sooni Taraporevala
Executive producer
Cherie Rodgers
Coproducer
Mitch Epstein
Associate producer
Lydia Dean Pilcher
Director of photography
Ed Lachman
Production designer
Mitch Epstein

Current

Mississippi Masala: The Ocean of Comings and Goings
Mississippi Masala: The Ocean of Comings and Goings

Mira Nair’s sumptuous second feature explores migration, rebellion, and romance across racial borders in the American South.

By Bilal Qureshi