Sooni feels re-releasing Mississippi Masala in the US is ‘important’

Thirty one years after it first premiered in France, filmmaker Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala (1991) is set to re-release in a remixed and remastered format in the USA on April 15. The film starring Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury revolves around Indians being subjected to racism and xenophobia in Uganda. Its screenplay writer Sooni Taraporevala feels that the film will have a strong impact on the new generation of the Indian diaspora. She says, “When the film came out, I was in India and there were comments like, ‘We aren’t like that, we aren’t racists’, but it’s not true. We like pointing fingers at others and call them racist, but deny it when it comes to us. It’s going to be relevant for the next generation, because sadly, not much has changed.”

Sharing her excitement about the film’s re-release, Taraporevala, who bagged the Golden Osella for Best Original Screenplay for it at the Venice international Film Festival in 1991, says, “In a climate where new films aren’t releasing theatrically, it’s amazing that a film that’s 30 years old is re-releasing.”

The Salaam Bombay! (1988) and The Namesake (2006) writer feels that it’s imperative to introduce the younger NRI audience to cult classics that offer them a glimpse into their culture. She says, “It’s always important to expose them to what came before, provided it’s relevant, especially in today’s times where attention spans are zero. Nobody reads and so, there’s no concept of history today.”

Taraporevala further reveals that Mississippi Masala holds a special place in Nair’s heart because of personal reasons. “Mira met her husband, Mahmood Mamdani, when we went to Kampala (Uganda) to do the research. The house in the film is now her house. Her son was born there,” she ends.