MISSISSIPPI MASALA

Director: Mira Nair

1991, 117

Screenwriter: Sooni Taraporevala

Cast: Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, Sharmila Tagore, Roshan Seth, Tagore Tyrone, Charles S. Dutton

 

Cinestudio is pleased to present the dazzling 4K digital restoration of Mississippi Masala, supervised by director Mira Nair and cinematographer Edward Lachman to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of its original release. Mira Nair (Salaam Bombay!) was passionate about representing the complicated dance between black and brown communities, through a tender romance between Mina, an Indian immigrant (Sarita Choudhury), and Demetrius, a young black man (Denzel Washington) in the South. Mina and her parents are forced out of Uganda by dictator Idi Amin, and relocate to Greenwood Mississippi, where they manage a string of motels. While she is assimilating to America’s mix of cultures, her rigid father only cares about returning to his homeland and re-claiming his land. When Mina meets local guy Demetrius erotic sparks fly and watching these two beautiful people fall in love is an undeniable thrill. The Indian and black communities are less happy, unable to see shared experience that bind us together.

“Sweet and sexy – one of the major restorations of the year!” – Leonard Pearce, The Film Stage.