Mississippi Masala
1991 · Movie · R · 118 min · ★ 6.4 · 81% critics
After being forced to leave their home in Uganda, an Indian family rebuilds their life running a motel in Mississippi. When their adult daughter begins a romance with a local Black man, the relationship tests family loyalties, stirs old memories of displacement, and exposes deep prejudices between neighboring communities.
Where to watch
Streaming on HBO Max and Cinemax.
2 hours to watch.
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Details
- Years
- 1991
- Release date
- 1991-09-18
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 118 min
- Critic score
- 81/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.4/10 (100 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a cross-cultural romance that also digs into identity, displacement, and community tensions, in the vein of My Beautiful Laundrette or The Namesake; Not for you if you need fast pacing and a tightly plotted love story.
Pros: layered cultural themes; strong performances; thoughtful, relevant questions | Cons: uneven pacing; romance feels rushed; dialogue can be blunt
Themes
- immigrant
- southern usa
- mississippi river
- uganda
- interracial relationship
- interracial romance
- racism
- racial prejudice
- woman director
- idi amin
- forced migration
- mississippi
- +1 more
Cast & crew
Denzel Washington
as Demetrius Williams
Sarita Choudhury
as Mina
Roshan Seth
as Jay
Sharmila Tagore
as Kinnu
Charles S. Dutton
as Tyrone Williams
Joe Seneca
as Williben Williams
Ranjit Chowdhry
as Anil
Mohan Gokhale
as Pontiac
Mohan Agashe
as Kanti Napkin
Tico Wells
as Dexter Williams
Directed by Mira Nair