Mississippi Masala (1991)
I probably should have given this movie 3.5/5, but I just had to give an extra half star for Roshan Seth. So, 4/5 it is *cue Alex Turner*
I want to start with my problems with the movie- firstly, I was so not a fan of Sarita Choudhury's acting here. She was fine at first, but as the movie progressed, her one-tone, one-pitch acting started to get on my nerves. I would have been a bigger fan of the love story between Mina (Sarita) and Demetrius (Denzel Washington) had it not been for her acting, honestly. Secondly, the ending seemed a little too simplistic to me. I don't want to give anything away, but I feel like it needed a little bit more nuance, considering how well structured everything had been before that.
Okay, but that was about the Mina-Demetrius ending. I have ZERO complaints about the Jaybhai-Kinnu (Roshan Seth and Sharmila Tagore, respectively) ending. My respect for Mira Nair increased exponentially after Jaybhai's letter to Kinnu (NO SPOILERS) towards the end, and of course, that bit with the baby in the evening was sheer poetic cinema. As they say, there really is no place like home. Also, speaking of my respect for Mira Nair, how can I fail to mention her cameo appearance as the quintessential middle-aged Indian aunty out to stir some shit up? I can totally see my aunts (both biological and otherwise) gossipping like that, and that is true #representation.
Also, since I have mentioned the "home" aspect of this movie, I must say that it made me think about what "home" means, and more importantly, the importance, sentiment and gravity that we attach to the meaning of "home". My heart broke a little bit every time Jaybhai reiterated "But Uganda is my home!". And also the part where Mina goes to Williben's (Joe Seneca) birthday lunch, and they have a conversation about how none of them have ever visited the place that they "come from". It really makes you wonder, doesn't it? I come from Uttarakhand (a small mountain-state in India), but I have lived in Delhi for almost all my life. Whenever someone asks me where I am from, my reflex answer is Uttarakhand, but I always have to clarify that I have lived in Delhi all my life. Every time I think of "home" though, and close my eyes, it's the mountains I see. But I know for a fact that, despite having whines against Delhi for literally 21 years, I will miss it more than I can imagine when the time comes to finally leave. Even now, stuck in my home during the coronavirus lockdown, I have often longed to just go out into the city and revel in its madness and chaos. And this is just one example of my own personal "home" conundrum. Home really is where the heart is, I guess. That's the only conclusion I can ever arrive at.
Of course, you can't talk about Mississippi Masala and not address the issue of racism that permeates it. The movie very rightly points out that Indians invoke "non-white" solidarity as per their own convenience, while still remaining deeply racist and discriminatory. The colonial hangover, the fetishisation of fair skin is yet to leave our collective consciousness, and it's going to be a long time before that is achieved (the movie, by the way, will be 30 years old next year). And this is just talking about the diaspora: let's not even talk about the racism (and casteism and anti-tribalism and colourism) of Indians in India. However, the film presents an interesting nuance here with Jaybhai, who was very actively pro-black back in Uganda, and was ostracised by the Indian community there for being so. In that sense, his rejection of his daughter's affair with a black man reminds the viewer that the notions of "honour" and "shame" is so deeply rooted in the Indian psyche, that even a man who considered himself "Ugandan first" is prey to these toxic concepts.
A very, very good watch, timeless (it seems) in its treatment of stuff like racism, and notions of "belonging". I think I'll rewatch it next year, on its thirtieth anniversary, as an ode to dear Mira Nair's amazing skills as a filmmaker (and actor). This of course raises the more important question: was I too quick to judge Vanity Fair (2004)? Does it demand a rewatch? Tune in to find out more!
I want to start with my problems with the movie- firstly, I was so not a fan of Sarita Choudhury's acting here. She was fine at first, but as the movie progressed, her one-tone, one-pitch acting started to get on my nerves. I would have been a bigger fan of the love story between Mina (Sarita) and Demetrius (Denzel Washington) had it not been for her acting, honestly. Secondly, the ending seemed a little too simplistic to me. I don't want to give anything away, but I feel like it needed a little bit more nuance, considering how well structured everything had been before that.
Okay, but that was about the Mina-Demetrius ending. I have ZERO complaints about the Jaybhai-Kinnu (Roshan Seth and Sharmila Tagore, respectively) ending. My respect for Mira Nair increased exponentially after Jaybhai's letter to Kinnu (NO SPOILERS) towards the end, and of course, that bit with the baby in the evening was sheer poetic cinema. As they say, there really is no place like home. Also, speaking of my respect for Mira Nair, how can I fail to mention her cameo appearance as the quintessential middle-aged Indian aunty out to stir some shit up? I can totally see my aunts (both biological and otherwise) gossipping like that, and that is true #representation.
Also, since I have mentioned the "home" aspect of this movie, I must say that it made me think about what "home" means, and more importantly, the importance, sentiment and gravity that we attach to the meaning of "home". My heart broke a little bit every time Jaybhai reiterated "But Uganda is my home!". And also the part where Mina goes to Williben's (Joe Seneca) birthday lunch, and they have a conversation about how none of them have ever visited the place that they "come from". It really makes you wonder, doesn't it? I come from Uttarakhand (a small mountain-state in India), but I have lived in Delhi for almost all my life. Whenever someone asks me where I am from, my reflex answer is Uttarakhand, but I always have to clarify that I have lived in Delhi all my life. Every time I think of "home" though, and close my eyes, it's the mountains I see. But I know for a fact that, despite having whines against Delhi for literally 21 years, I will miss it more than I can imagine when the time comes to finally leave. Even now, stuck in my home during the coronavirus lockdown, I have often longed to just go out into the city and revel in its madness and chaos. And this is just one example of my own personal "home" conundrum. Home really is where the heart is, I guess. That's the only conclusion I can ever arrive at.
Of course, you can't talk about Mississippi Masala and not address the issue of racism that permeates it. The movie very rightly points out that Indians invoke "non-white" solidarity as per their own convenience, while still remaining deeply racist and discriminatory. The colonial hangover, the fetishisation of fair skin is yet to leave our collective consciousness, and it's going to be a long time before that is achieved (the movie, by the way, will be 30 years old next year). And this is just talking about the diaspora: let's not even talk about the racism (and casteism and anti-tribalism and colourism) of Indians in India. However, the film presents an interesting nuance here with Jaybhai, who was very actively pro-black back in Uganda, and was ostracised by the Indian community there for being so. In that sense, his rejection of his daughter's affair with a black man reminds the viewer that the notions of "honour" and "shame" is so deeply rooted in the Indian psyche, that even a man who considered himself "Ugandan first" is prey to these toxic concepts.
A very, very good watch, timeless (it seems) in its treatment of stuff like racism, and notions of "belonging". I think I'll rewatch it next year, on its thirtieth anniversary, as an ode to dear Mira Nair's amazing skills as a filmmaker (and actor). This of course raises the more important question: was I too quick to judge Vanity Fair (2004)? Does it demand a rewatch? Tune in to find out more!
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