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Mississippi Masala
Their affair causes a rift in the community and forces the lovers' families to examine their ideas
about racial and class differences.
In 1972, an Indian lawyer and his family flee their Ugandan home
as Idi Amin seizes power, and the father never forgets the pain and indignity he suffered. Nearly
20 years later, the family has settled in Mississippi and the lawyer's adult daughter Mina
(Sarita Chaudhary) in her twenties, working for her father, falls in love with a young black entrepreneur,
Demetrius (Denzil Washington). Their affair causes a rift in the community and forces the lovers' families
to examine their ideas about racial and class differences.
The word Masala is a blend of spices commonly used in Indian cuisine and has been used here to describe
the cross-ethnic relationship between Demetrius and Mina. It can also be used to describe Mina herself
who is a mixture of Indian, African, English, and American cultural influences, yet not completely
comfortable with any of them. Mina has never been to India, insists she's Ugandan and now finds herself
dumped in Mississippi and when Demetrius invites Mina home for a barbecue, she's the only one who has been to Africa.
Demetrius and Mina's affair occasions a violent confrontation with members of the Indian community and the
couple must choose between their families and heritages, and each other. Nobody, it seems, approves of this
unusual mix — or as the film title implies, this Mississippi Masala. But despite all the roadblocks put in
their path, they find a way to be together.
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