This was a good weekend. We had both managed to wrap up our work by Friday and had two full days to ourselves which felt like a bonus. 

It was the Dushera weekend and Saturday went by meeting a few relatives, wishing everyone well on the festival. Once the month of October dawns on us and Dushera comes close, you feel the change in the air. The season shifts from monsoon to drier weather. There’s discussions on plans for Diwali, holidays and family gatherings. It starts to feel like the year is coming to an end and the next two months are to reflect, spend time with family and friends and live a little before the madness of the next year begins. 

We woke up quite late this Sunday and I was in two minds if I should step out for coffee. These Sunday morning coffee plans are all thanks to my sister. I was the kind of person who would never eat a meal alone in a restaurant or watch a film alone in the theatre. My sister was the one who pushed me out of the house and forced me to spend time with myself. She told me how much she enjoys it and I reluctantly tried it once. I haven’t left it ever since. I read, listen to a podcast, check my phone, I do just about anything while quietly enjoying my coffee. I haven’t gone to the extent of watching a film alone in the theatre but who’s to say! Maybe, some day. 

After a lot of thinking, I finally did step out for coffee. It was a quick walk to the coffee shop, a nice hot cup of coffee and I was back home in an hour. Since the festive season had begun, my heart was aching to have some festive meal. I decided to go by the classics. Potato sabji, puri, boondi raita and halwa. The cook was so long! I wondered how my mum would do all of this and feed us hot puris on every festival. I was exhausted by the end of the cook but somehow felt good about it. I think the festive emotions had taken over me. 

We sat down to enjoy our meal and today’s meal just felt like something we should enjoy at peace. No television, no music, just lots of food. After relishing our meal we started swapping through OTT apps to find a good film to watch. 

My husband had recently watched an interview of the filmmaker Mira Nair and we were discussing what films of hers we have watched. We realised that other than Monsoon Wedding and Namesake, we haven’t seen much of her work. My husband was telling me how one of her films stars Denzel Washington in a lead role. I mean, my curiosity was so high by this point that I checked where I can watch this film online. Turns out, a very good print of the film is available on YouTube. 

We were sold. We had to watch this. The film is called “Mississippi Masala” and it’s a 1991 release. The protagonist roles are played by Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhary. Sarita’s mother’s role is played by Sharmila Tagore. What is this movie even? It was all so intriguing I was really excited.

The film begins with an Indian family’s sudden expelling from Uganda. The family hurriedly leaves Uganda and settles in the southern state of Missisippi in the USA. An Indian origin family, living in Uganda, now forced to move to America, just nothing felt like familiar territory. Who are these Indians even, who lived in Uganda and called Uganda their home? The film eventually explains this. It seems that the British had hired a few Indians to work in Africa to build the railways. Most Indians that moved to Africa, settled there and eventually made Africa their home. Until a point when the political leader of Africa announced that all Indian living in Africa are expelled and expected to leave the country. Displaced and clueless, this Indian family is forced to leave too. A good African friend of the family helps them leave Uganda. 

The family settles down in London and eventually in Mississippi. Many years have passed and Sarita has grown up to be a 24 year old Indian American woman. The parents do odd jobs to sustain their livelihood. It’s not the best of the scenarios and days are just passing by. The father is specifically shown sorely missing his home – Uganda. 

A minor car accident leads to Sarita and Denzel meeting each other and there begins a love story of the two. Sarita, an Indian, has lived all her life in Africa, London and America and has never been to India. And Denzel, who is African, lives in the USA and has never been to Africa. The sense of displacement is from both sides and the feeling of home is pretty much what their parents have built for them.  

When the love grows stronger and the couple is caught lying and meeting each other, the family members react the way they are expected to. There’s drama galore at the Indian family about their daughter putting them to shame and how she should marry someone of her own race and religion. Denzel’s family does not take it too well either. There’s a beautiful scene between Sarita’s father, played wonderfully by the actor Roshan Seth and Denzel where he tells the father that there’s no difference between them. The only difference is that Indians are a few shades lighter. Yet, they come to America and behave like the black people until they make enough money and behave like the whites and stub on the toes of the black people. I think for Indians that have lived in America, the context to this may be more relevant. 

The film is shot in Mississippi and it really picks on the beats of the place so well. The background music is hints of jazz and country music. Everyone lives in big homes and at every corner of the street there’s a group of young boys rapping and dancing. The depiction of Indians living in America is also superbly captured. Indian families are motel owners and all occasions and religious gatherings are held in the dingy small halls of the motel. Old Hindi cinema music is played on music recorders. Families are trying to set up their sons and daughters within the community. There are aunties constantly gossiping about, well, everything under the sun. The community is pretty much self-sufficient in terms of sustenance and gossip. 

While watching the film, all I could think of was that this Indian filmmaker went to Uganda and shot half the film there, then half of it in Mississippi while also casting these wonderful actors, all of it in the year 1991! Truly she had no limits! To this, I feel the film was a success. It’s a peaceful watch and doesn’t ask too much from you. I was specially interested in the world that Mira Nair managed to create while bridging reality and entertainment together. Her films are a testament to my views on films about how real life human stories are dramatic and entertaining enough to pique someone’s interest. You don’t always need a superhero or a VFX heavy bombarding to make it entertaining and fun.

-Aishwarya Bedekar