If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Mississippi Masala is a little bit difficult to rate. It's a bit dated now, but still has enough going for it that it is fairly good film. (spoilers) Between the 2 stories, the main love affair and secondary moving away from home and memories, I found the Uganda foundation story with memories to be quite good and absorbing, while the love interest poorly written and conceived. The movie does pretty well until it tries to conjure up conflict based on racial friction - this is where the dialog starts to break down. Dialog starts to include subjects like "you people" and other generalizations. The characters especially Demetrius and Mina lack what should be clarity to cut through the tension - and that's the problem. It's too contrived. I thought the acting was mostly good. You can tell it's Choudhury's first big movie or part. Roshan Seth commands all the scenes he's in. The ending was well done, and the secondary plot magnificently completed. It's enough to encourage watching the movie just for that part of it

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.

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.

As an Indian residing in another country, the story pulled some familiar strings in me. The movie wonderfully captures and eloquently describes the battles fought by an immigrant or a foreign resident. The racism, prejudice, exposed to, and how a confused citizen - between cultures - tries to adjust is well brought out. A gripping story, dispassionately told. While passionate love stories between two diverse cultures, are not altogether new, the way the director keeps us attentive is very impressive. Kampala to London to Mississippi. Childhood to adolescence to adulthood. Passion to Patriotism to Prejudice. Devotion to dilemma to disregard. Excellent!