Did you know that the new mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, is the son of filmmaker Mira Nair? A.K.A. the director of Mississippi Masala, A.K.A. one of the greatest romantic dramas of the ’90s. 

Starring a young Denzel Washington and the beautiful Sarita Choudhury, Mississippi Masala tells the story of Mina and Demetrius. Mina is the daughter of Ugandan Indian parents who, after a policy enacted by Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in 1972 that forced the expulsion of Asians from Uganda, must relocate to rural Mississippi—talk about culture shock. Though Mina’s parents—especially her dad, Jay—understandably find it difficult to acclimate to American life, Mina, who has now grown up in Mississippi, considers it her home. She eventually falls for Demetrius, a local carpenter, with whom she begins a relationship, though secretly knowing that her parents wouldn’t approve.

On the surface, this is a classic tale of the generational gaps between immigrants. A tale that I, as a 1st generation immigrant myself, am often wary of because of how such stories—usually written and created by 2nd generation immigrants in the West—obfuscate the stories of the parents; oftentimes made through a severely skewed lens that leans on Western ideologies and a need to please white people (*cough* The Big Sick). Basically, all the sh*t that Mindy Kaling has made throughout her entire career. Mississippi Masala, however, wonderfully subverts that. It tells the stories of the Indian-Ugandan people through Mina’s father, Jay. And by making Mina’s love interest a black man from America—a people whose history I need not explain—it introduces another layer of storytelling about a shared experience of racism between Indians and African-Americans. 

Sarita Choudhury and Denzel have a wonderful chemistry, and Nair directs that chemistry, this young love between these two characters, with a subtle hand that’s equally sensual as it is smart. The added layer of cultural convergence, especially between the black and indian communities in the 90s, leading to the pair having to tackle all the trials and tribulations that come with it, is a thrill to witness. 

Mississippi Masala is a must-watch for a variety of reasons, and with Mrs. Nair’s son now having made history in The Big Apple, it’s probably the perfect excuse to make this ’90s classic a part of your next movie night.