- Mina's father: I do not want to see Mina going through the same struggles as I did.Demetrius: Struggle? Look, I'm a Black man born and raised in Mississippi. Ain't a damn thing you can tell me about struggle; I know. I know you folk can come down here from God knows where and be about as black as the Ace of Spades, but as soon as you get here you start acting white, and treating us like we're your doormats.
A 1991 Romantic Drama directed by Mira Nair. An ethnically Indian family flees from Uganda when it is taken over by dictator Idi Amin, and emigrates to the United States (specifically, Mississippi). More than a decade later, in 1991, the now-adult daughter (Sarita Choudhury) of the family falls in love with an African-American man (Denzel Washington) and this interracial romance stirs up controversy; the movie focuses on the couple trying to navigate their very different families and getting their acceptance.
Meanwhile, the father of the Indian-Ugandan family is fighting his own demons when trying against all odds to sue the Ugandan government for his family's losses.
The movie also stars Roshan Seth, Sharmila Tagore, Charles S. Dutton, Joe Seneca, Ranjit Chowdhry, Mohan Gokhale and Mohan Agashe.
It was released on September 18, 1991.
Tropes for the film:
- Alliterative Title: Mississippi Masala.
- Brick Joke: When Mina introduces herself to Demetrius' family, Demetrius' grandpa, who is very hard of hearing, repeatedly mis-hears that she's actually from India and keeps saying "So you're from Indianola". At the end of the movie, when Mina asks Demetrius' Dad where Demetrius is, the answer is "in Indianola"—so apparently, this really is a nearby townnote . She drives to that town and the last scenes of the couple take place there.
- Crash-Into Hello: Mina meets Demetrius when she accidentally crashes the car she's driving into Dexter's van.
- Historical Domain Character: Idi Amin, Dictator of Uganda. He is portrayed in the film by Kenyan actor Joseph Olita, who had previously portrayed him in the 1981 production The Rise and Fall of Idi Amin.
- Immigrant Parents: Double so. From their arrival in the U.S. on, Mina's parents are immigrants who were expelled from Uganda; this actually is what drives the plot. But even back in Uganda, during the first few scenes of the film, the parents were essentially immigrants; though not in the literal sense of the word (Jay and Kinnu probably were born in Uganda themselves) but because of their Indian ethnicity.
- Meet Cute: Demetrius and Mina first meet when she accidentally hist him with her car.
- A Minor Kidroduction: Though the focus is on her father, the movie first introduces Mina when she and her parents are forced to flee Uganda. The viewer then sees Mina 18 years later after her family has settled in Mississippi.
- Missing Mom: Demetrius' mum has died prior to the movie and so doesn't appear in the movie, but is often spoken about by her husband (Demetrius' father) and her sons in a loving way.
- Tagline: "Passion. Tradition. Mix It Up".
- You Can't Go Home Again: Mina's father throughout the film longed to return to Uganda to reclaim his home which was seized during the Amin regime. He finally gets to go to Kampala to attend a court proceeding on the disposition of his previously confiscated house. There, he finds that his best friend Okelo has died, his old home an ruined shell of its former self, and his neighborhood unrecognizeable.
