30 years on, a new beginning! Mira Nair to re-release Mississippi Masala

A still from Mississippi Masala

Mira Nair is releasing a remastered version of Mississippi Masala (1991) to celebrate her film's 30th anniversary. The romantic drama, written by Sooni Taraporevala, marked the filmmaker's foray into Hollywood.

It explores the interracial romance between an African-American man and Indian-American woman. The cast includes Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhary, Sharmila Tagore and Roshan Seth.

Responding to a user on Twitter, about the relevance of her films, Nair revealed she is on a mission to "resurrect" her movies. She said Mississippi Masala is the first one as the year 2021 will mark its 30th anniversary.

"I'm on a mission. Resurrecting my films. ''Mississippi Masala'' re-mastered & re-releasing on its 30th anniversary in 2021! We mattered long before movements woke up the masses," the 63-year-old director wrote.

Also featuring Sharmila Tagore, Roshan Seth and Mohan Agashe, Mississippi Masala was released in France on September 18 in 1991 before making its debut in the UK and the US next year on January 17 and February 5, respectively. It was well-received by critics and earned a standing ovation at the Sundance Film Festival in 1992 and won an award at the Venice Film Festival. Besides this film, the stage musical adaptation of Nair's 2001 movie "Monsoon Wedding" will premiere in India in November 2021.

Nair, whose directorial credits also include movies such as Salaam Bombay, The Namesake and Queen of Katwe, most recently worked on the series adaptation of Vikram Seth's novel A Suitable Boy. The show premiered on BBC One in the UK in July 2020, before hitting streamer Netflix in October.