The Cinematheque

New Restoration

“A big movie in terms of talent, geography, and concerns … Mississippi Masala demonstrates that the success of Salaam Bombay! … was not an accident.”

Vincent Canby, New York Times

“The vibrant cultures of India, Uganda, and the American South are blended and simmered into a rich and fragrant fusion feast in Mira Nair’s 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) finds herself helping to run a motel in the faraway land of Mississippi. It’s there that a passionate romance with the charming Black carpet cleaner Demetrius (Denzel Washington) challenges the prejudices of their conservative families and exposes the rifts between the region’s Indian and African American communities. Tackling thorny issues of racism, colourism, culture clash, and displacement with big-hearted humour and keen insight, Nair and screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala serve up a sweet, sexy, and radical celebration of love’s power to break down the barriers between us” (Janus Films).

“One of Denzel Washington’s loveliest and most under-seen romances … Mississippi Masala is exactly the kind of movie that deserves to be rediscovered today: a wholly original story written and directed by women that thoughtfully explores the complexities of interracial love between people of colour.”

Caroline Siede, AV Club

“An utterly infectious romance between an African American and an Indian African emigre, this seductively funny film measures the pull of roots against the tug of heartstrings.”

Rita Kempley, Washington Post