Film Review – Mississippi MasalaEssay Preview: Film Review – Mississippi MasalaReport this essayHey..I have never done this before though always wished to. So, I finally decided to do it-write a movie review.. i also tried rating it..Its fun actually.But coming back to the movie thats to be reviewed by the “great Mr. Reddy”,Mississippi Masala was Mira Nairs second after her oscar nominated Masterpiece Salaam Bombay!. I had very little knowledge about Nairs work during my growing up days, except for her erotic drama Kama Sutra, which came out in 1996. Strange though, since Kama sutra can easily be singled out as Nairs weakest work. It was much later that I got to know about Nairs real callibre, about her first movie Salaam Bombay and of course its follow-up Mississippi Masala. With a cast comprising of American(mostly black), Indian and some Ugandan actors, Mississippi.. tells the tale of a Ugandan born Indian named Jay, who , along with wife Kindu and daughter Meena, is forced to quit Uganda,following its then dictaor Idi Amins orders for all Indians to evacuate the country. The family finds shelter in Greenwood, Mississippi. The growing up for Meena in Mississipi was never to be simple. With conservative Parents and their extended indian family in Mississippi on one hand , and the rest of Greenwood, which has more blacks than the native whites and a culture so alien to indians, Meena tries to adapt to both the worlds. However, when she falls in love with the local carpet cleaner, Demetrius(Washington), things only get more complicated.
There have been stories on cross cultural clashes and interracial prejudices. But what sets Mississippi.. apart from the rest is that the romance takes place between people who belong to races, which are pretty much simlar in terms of the colour of their people and the kind of discrimination they have been subjected to from the the “superior” race – whites. But still, all hell breaks loose when Meenas conservative family learns about their daughters affair with a black man. Demetrius is almost ostracized within his own community. There are interesting hypocrisies that are brought out here. Meenas father(Jay) wants to go back to Uganda and live with the native blacks of that country;but at the same time finds it difficult to accept that his daughter is trying to elope with a black guy. All this Nair does, without being preachy. In fact, there are some very funny moments, mostly arising out of the immigrant indians way of things in an alien land.
The rest of the story is more interesting, more interesting and funnier. There are some funny nuggets, a little bit of wacky humor, but also a little bit of self-reflection. I’d go as far as saying it is probably the funniest in the book: you’re always able to pull out everything that could conceivably fit into a very simple thought process and in the end you do it in a way that takes it, for whatever reason, outside the bubble. And for me, not being able to do it myself was a big problem, because that’s how I had to do that book. It was so many things that had a common thread to it. You’re always able to pull out all the elements that you think are more important for you. That was a major piece of that. It had a very clear edge to it. One of the things that I had to ask all of them, and really find out all the thoughts and feelings that the authors had, was, if this is true or the truth, why did you create this story so quickly? I really don’t think that it was an over-hyped idea but it is one of those things.
I really loved each chapter. It took me out of any sense of direction. There was nothing for me to do until the writing. And there were a lot of jokes, but overall it hit me like the whole “why are you bringing the story into the book?” mindset. They were very funny and true and personal and poignant and very deep ideas. That is a huge thing. When you’re going on a road trip, you’re going to be like, “Hey this is great, now I’m out in the world. And that feeling of having to do this really interesting and interesting, but so many things happen that get to that. And sometimes it feels as though I only do it out of my love for the characters and the story. And then you have this big revelation. At least I do.” It felt like that when I was writing. And so that’s really what this is. This is a thing that comes up. It is a new kind of story. It looks at the time of the Civil War and has this wonderful thing about that and realizes you’re not going to have to look away from that. It’s really amazing.”
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It’s a funny story, though not always on the hilarious side, because the author is trying to explain and really bring life to the story that had so many issues with the original story. This year’s book wasn’t really the funniest, but it wasn’t as bad as those other ones. Not that it’s particularly funny as it is, as far as the humor go. It was better because it had some of the elements that came across in the books in particular, like the interracial romance, the things that people are doing in this country and what’s going on in Africa and Asia, and they’re actually having this really good and even very important cultural moment, but also people have to stand around and think, “What could’ve happened to this country if we really knew this?” It’s not even in the way of things that you’d think if you were a white guy who works in this country. It’s just what happens to you
The rest of the story is more interesting, more interesting and funnier. There are some funny nuggets, a little bit of wacky humor, but also a little bit of self-reflection. I’d go as far as saying it is probably the funniest in the book: you’re always able to pull out everything that could conceivably fit into a very simple thought process and in the end you do it in a way that takes it, for whatever reason, outside the bubble. And for me, not being able to do it myself was a big problem, because that’s how I had to do that book. It was so many things that had a common thread to it. You’re always able to pull out all the elements that you think are more important for you. That was a major piece of that. It had a very clear edge to it. One of the things that I had to ask all of them, and really find out all the thoughts and feelings that the authors had, was, if this is true or the truth, why did you create this story so quickly? I really don’t think that it was an over-hyped idea but it is one of those things.
I really loved each chapter. It took me out of any sense of direction. There was nothing for me to do until the writing. And there were a lot of jokes, but overall it hit me like the whole “why are you bringing the story into the book?” mindset. They were very funny and true and personal and poignant and very deep ideas. That is a huge thing. When you’re going on a road trip, you’re going to be like, “Hey this is great, now I’m out in the world. And that feeling of having to do this really interesting and interesting, but so many things happen that get to that. And sometimes it feels as though I only do it out of my love for the characters and the story. And then you have this big revelation. At least I do.” It felt like that when I was writing. And so that’s really what this is. This is a thing that comes up. It is a new kind of story. It looks at the time of the Civil War and has this wonderful thing about that and realizes you’re not going to have to look away from that. It’s really amazing.”
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It’s a funny story, though not always on the hilarious side, because the author is trying to explain and really bring life to the story that had so many issues with the original story. This year’s book wasn’t really the funniest, but it wasn’t as bad as those other ones. Not that it’s particularly funny as it is, as far as the humor go. It was better because it had some of the elements that came across in the books in particular, like the interracial romance, the things that people are doing in this country and what’s going on in Africa and Asia, and they’re actually having this really good and even very important cultural moment, but also people have to stand around and think, “What could’ve happened to this country if we really knew this?” It’s not even in the way of things that you’d think if you were a white guy who works in this country. It’s just what happens to you
Roshan Seth, who plays Meenas father Jay, is perfectly cast for the role of a man stuck between his desire to go back to Uganda and his own family turmoil.Its a pity we get to see so little of this great actor.Denzel Washington, who had just won an academy award for his performance in “Glory” the previous year, couldnt have been more natural here. Sharmila Tagore, as Meenas pseudo-orthodox mother, is a welcome surprise.Although a fine actress,