Avinash Patalay After Salaam Bombay expectations run high with the next outing being "Mississippi Masala" for Mira Nair. And in all honesty "Mississippi Masala" has a soul in itself. There are many layers in the movie which are subtly dealt with and handled succinctly. For starters the plot predominantly centred around Indian family one would expect the usual "laugh-at-me" tracks and should admit it doesn't succumb to it. It's neither taking mickey out of the Black community. Both the sides of the coin are impartially moderated. The director deserves kudos for efficiently managing to do the tight-rope walking.Sarita Chowdhary:: Essentially the movie is woman-centric and hence she gets the meaty-pie. Has various shades to her role and Sarita seem to be at ease in the garb of Meena. As rightly justified in the movie, she could be easily mistaken for a Mexican. And Mira Nair does portray her "Mistress of Spices" quite well.Denzel Washington:: His performance surely makes you feel that he delivers goods that is class-apart. The writing should take the blame for any shortcoming on developing his character otherwise he is nothing short of cent percent. Roshan Seth:: For some reason, I was constantly getting the feeling that I am watching a character who is masked under Naseeruddin Shah. Perhaps the role was written for Naseer in the first place. And yes, Roshan Seth gets the diction spot on.Sharmila:: Doesn't get much but she is good in her own right.The other Bollywood crew lend adequate support (Mohan Gokhale, Mohan Agashe & Anjan Srivastava).Music by L. Subramaniam neatly blends with the narration.The only part which deserved better writing was the way the lead characters meet and start to like each other which I would safely say is a minor aberration which can be ignored.Nonetheless, its a good watch.

NewEnglandPat The theme of interracial romance is the setting for this fine drama and focus on the divisions between black Americans and South Asian communities. Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury are appealing as the central figures from different backgrounds and struggle to stay together amid the controversy that swirls around them. Washington and Choudhury have a nice chemistry that works very well in this picture and makes their romance even more believable. They have their share of ups and downs and face challenges to their relationship like any normal couple. The movie touches on the origins of the immigrant status of the South Asians which began when they were expelled from Uganda many years earlier. The resentment towards blacks is a recurring theme in the movie as they settle into their new communities in the deep south. The film has a bouncy music score that adds flavor to the story and a nice cast weaves everything together in fine style.

rosscinema This is an intimate look at Indians from Africa in America that are just trying to do the best they can and still maintain their values and it was made into a film when the director discovered that many of the motels in the south are owned by Indians. Story is about an Indian family that was ousted from Uganda in the early 70's when Idi Amin started to kick out all Asians. Jay (Roshan Seth) was a lawyer in Africa but had to take his wife Kinnu (Sharmila Tagore) and his young daughter Mina out of the country and would end up in Greenwood, Mississippi. Years later Mina (Sarita Choudhury) who is 24 still lives with her parents who run a motel and they expect her to marry an Indian gentleman. One day Mina is involved in a traffic accident and meets a young black man named Demetrius (Denzel Washington) and after exchanging address's he asks her out on a date. They start to date but keep it secret from her parents until they are caught by fellow Indians.*****SPOILER ALERT*****Demetrius owns a carpet cleaning business and many of his clients are the Indian motel owners and when word spreads of their relationship his business starts to go downhill which puts him in trouble with the bank. Mina loves Demetrius but he is seriously hurt by the reaction of not only the Indians in the community but of her parents.This film was directed by Mira Nair who has added so much to films with her poignant views of Indian culture trying to survive in America and she had made a big impact with her first feature "Salaam Bombay!" and would later make the splendid "Monsoon Wedding". One of the interesting things about this story is that we get to see why this family had to come to America instead of just having the film start with them already in Mississippi. While this is an interesting and provocative script what lies at the core of this film is a simple love story that is relevant to this day. Washington was just emerging as an important actor and he's solid as usual but the film's star is really by newcomer Choudhury. This was her first role and even though at times she appears nervous she turns in a very good performance. It cannot be easy to be in your first film and have nude scenes but she evidently came through alright and shows enough freshness and charm to practically steal the film. Film goes on a tad long and the last 20 minutes seem obvious but this is an intriguing story and Nair is an important director who has again shown her observances of transplanted Indians in America.

Shari This film discusses race from another point of view that wasn't really known to me and I liked that. Mira Nair talks about race issues between Indians and Blacks when they are more often that that from the same place. It really comments a lot about the situation in Africa where Black Africans want to keep Africa Black. I didn't know who's side to be on, but that's not the point. They had to learn to deal instead of trying to be better than the other. Sarita Choudhury is a wonderful actress and I like her decision to act in more Indie films. Denzel was great, of course! Get this movie! 8/10