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 (2007) 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.

Sarita Choudhury with directors Rajeev and Elan Dassani

Priyanka Chopra Jonas's and Blumhouse Productions' latest horror thriller Evil Eye marries traditional Hindi film tropes like reincarnation and the cycle of karma with a powerful feminist message. Directors Rajeev and Elan Dassani say they loved writer Madhuri Shekar's concept that used a mother's fear of her daughter getting into the wrong relationship to make a larger point about domestic abuse. "It speaks of the mother's own traumas, and her fear that her once abusive relationship would have cursed her daughter. We used the supernatural to explore societal issues like domestic abuse," begins Rajeev.

The director duo credits actors Sunita Mani and Sarita Choudhury for enhancing the material considerably. The road, however, was laden with challenges. Rajeev says creating a supernatural thriller without legitimising superstitions was a tricky slope. "We wanted to use superstitions as a storytelling tool, but also respect that many believe in horoscopes and these ideas."

The film drives home the point that the onus of abuse is never on the woman. "What mattered the most to us was the film's message. It was crucial to show Usha [Choudhury's character] that she did not need to blame herself for what happened to her when she was younger, and that she and her daughter had the strength to transcend men like Sandeep [boyfriend]," adds Rajeev. Elan seconds the idea as he states, "It has been an empowering feminist tale from the beginning."

With Chopra backing it, the Amazon Prime Video offering has desi roots. Quiz Elan on how the movie furthers the depiction of ethnic stories on the world screen, and he says, "We hope the film can show people that cultural stories can be told in different genres, without dwelling too much on the culture itself—that is just another part of the story. That said, we're always worried about portraying characters authentically. Here, we did our homework and strived to present this world as accurately as possible to the lived experience of many Indians and Indian-Americans."