Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

JinRoz For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Thruxomatic It is rare for what amounts to a simple love story to cover as much ground as this film ultimately does.There's a political layer, with the 1970s era unrest in Uganda being a primary driver and motivator for much of the other decisions made by the characters. There's a racial layer, with racial tension in Africa spilling over into reciprocal racial tension in Mississippi in turn. There's a layer for interpersonal relationships as well, with Demetrius and Meena's growing love and the estranged friendship with her father and his friend back in Uganda.Weaving all these layers together requires a very deft suite of actors and a very deft director and, for the most part, everyone is up to snuff. There are some very high quality acting performances indeed in this film.Ultimately, the film is about the first generation of an immigrant family struggling to come to grips with their diminished situation. Some members of this first generation embrace the change and attempt to adopt many of the idioms and customs of their new home, and the second generation most definitely does this, but the patriarch of the family struggles to accept that his life in Uganda is essentially gone. The entire film builds to a climax that ultimately has nothing to do with Demetrius and Meena's relationship.The real climax is the father's ultimately forced acceptance of his new situation. The interracial relationship is the driver, but the destination is purely internal for the family patriarch.A nod has to go to Denzel Washington for opting into this small-budget film of exceeding quality when his star was clearly on the rise and such films could easily have been deemed beneath him. Choudry is positively mesmerizing, and she steals many scenes with her subtle facial expressions and body language. Clearly, she was a gem that needed a better setting for her later career.I'd love to give a cast award, because the cast is almost univerally above average, which is very rare for a film. Some very bit parts become part of a larger tapestry that is very worth one's time to witness.

MartinHafer This film begins in the early 1970s in Uganda. Idi Amin, the insane dictator, has just announced that all non-blacks must leave the country. So, a young Meena and her parents are forced to leave the only place they've ever lived. While they are Africans, their heritage is Indian.The film picks up two decades later. The family now lives in Mississippi of all places--in a small Indian community. They work for an Indian-owned motel. Meena (Sarita Choudhury) meets a nice young black man, Demetrius (Denzel Washington). And, after dating a very short time, they sleep together...and are discovered by her relatives. The family is incensed--presumably because Demetrius is black. And, lots of chaos and repercussions occur.My feeling is that the script missed the point a bit. While only idiots might be angry at the interracial angle, I guess I'm old fashioned and can see the family getting upset that Meena is spreading her legs after only two dates. In movies, this is a good thing--in real life, pregnancy and STDs might be the result. So, had Meena and Demetrius had a deeper connection before they were discovered, the film would have made a lot more sense--and the conflict would have been much more interesting. As it is, the relationship between Meena and Demetrius is unconvincing and makes little sense. And, speaking of that, the film ends very, very, very abruptly and left me feeling very flat. Overall, a film with some real possibilities but that just didn't come together well. A bit of a disappointment.

Avinash Patalay 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.

misshajarah I have watched this film over 10 times and i still enjoy watching it. it is a beautiful, romantic yet sad story of a young girl's life changing. she is at first lost in Mississippi but she finds hapinness again in Denzel Washington. I strongly recommend this film to people who may feel lost in new places in the world. As a young lady from Uganda i watch this film and remenisce about my childhood and leaving my home and coming to a new place in the United Kingdom. Mina is the only child therefore she's got no siblings to talk to about how she really feels although she is quite close to her parents. I think there's a sense of loneliness in the film and sadness. However there is also a lot of comedy in the film from Mina's friend's and the romance is beautiful. In the end love conquers all and Mina and Denzel decide to go away together to clean hotels... Aah Aah.