This film begins in the early 1970s in Uganda. Idi Amin, the insane dictator, has just announced that all non-blacks must leave the country. So, a young Meena and her parents are forced to leave the only place they've ever lived. While they are Africans, their heritage is Indian.The film picks up two decades later. The family now lives in Mississippi of all places--in a small Indian community. They work for an Indian-owned motel. Meena (Sarita Choudhury) meets a nice young black man, Demetrius (Denzel Washington). And, after dating a very short time, they sleep together...and are discovered by her relatives. The family is incensed--presumably because Demetrius is black. And, lots of chaos and repercussions occur.My feeling is that the script missed the point a bit. While only idiots might be angry at the interracial angle, I guess I'm old fashioned and can see the family getting upset that Meena is spreading her legs after only two dates. In movies, this is a good thing--in real life, pregnancy and STDs might be the result. So, had Meena and Demetrius had a deeper connection before they were discovered, the film would have made a lot more sense--and the conflict would have been much more interesting. As it is, the relationship between Meena and Demetrius is unconvincing and makes little sense. And, speaking of that, the film ends very, very, very abruptly and left me feeling very flat. Overall, a film with some real possibilities but that just didn't come together well. A bit of a disappointment.

I have to disagree with the other comments. I think that this movie is entirely in your face when it comes to race relations. One would think that all African Americans and Indians talked about was how they were not white. I also found the protagonists to be selfish and annoying. One would think if Mina's clichéd "what about me's" didn't get on people's' nerves, then her general disrespectful attitude and nastiness would. I found Demetrius to be disrespectful as well. Mina's family was upset with him because of his skin color? Maybe, just maybe it was the fact that they caught him having sex with her daughter - and yes, call me a curmudgeon, but I think I agree with traditional Indian culture, which seems to be against having sex after a couple of dates. Maybe I'm just not liberated enough!In general, the plot unfolded slowly, and besides the assisine dialogues, much of it just didn't click. Why, for example, if he was such a swell guy, as the movie tries to present him, would Demetrius hit on Mina when Harry was right there in the first place? Denzel is of course a great actor, but they just didn't write for him here. The only appealing aspect of this movie was the father and his story.

This is an intimate look at Indians from Africa in America that are just trying to do the best they can and still maintain their values and it was made into a film when the director discovered that many of the motels in the south are owned by Indians. Story is about an Indian family that was ousted from Uganda in the early 70's when Idi Amin started to kick out all Asians. Jay (Roshan Seth) was a lawyer in Africa but had to take his wife Kinnu (Sharmila Tagore) and his young daughter Mina out of the country and would end up in Greenwood, Mississippi. Years later Mina (Sarita Choudhury) who is 24 still lives with her parents who run a motel and they expect her to marry an Indian gentleman. One day Mina is involved in a traffic accident and meets a young black man named Demetrius (Denzel Washington) and after exchanging address's he asks her out on a date. They start to date but keep it secret from her parents until they are caught by fellow Indians.*****SPOILER ALERT*****Demetrius owns a carpet cleaning business and many of his clients are the Indian motel owners and when word spreads of their relationship his business starts to go downhill which puts him in trouble with the bank. Mina loves Demetrius but he is seriously hurt by the reaction of not only the Indians in the community but of her parents.This film was directed by Mira Nair who has added so much to films with her poignant views of Indian culture trying to survive in America and she had made a big impact with her first feature "Salaam Bombay!" and would later make the splendid "Monsoon Wedding". One of the interesting things about this story is that we get to see why this family had to come to America instead of just having the film start with them already in Mississippi. While this is an interesting and provocative script what lies at the core of this film is a simple love story that is relevant to this day. Washington was just emerging as an important actor and he's solid as usual but the film's star is really by newcomer Choudhury. This was her first role and even though at times she appears nervous she turns in a very good performance. It cannot be easy to be in your first film and have nude scenes but she evidently came through alright and shows enough freshness and charm to practically steal the film. Film goes on a tad long and the last 20 minutes seem obvious but this is an intriguing story and Nair is an important director who has again shown her observances of transplanted Indians in America.

As an Indian residing in another country, the story pulled some familiar strings in me. The movie wonderfully captures and eloquently describes the battles fought by an immigrant or a foreign resident. The racism, prejudice, exposed to, and how a confused citizen - between cultures - tries to adjust is well brought out. A gripping story, dispassionately told. While passionate love stories between two diverse cultures, are not altogether new, the way the director keeps us attentive is very impressive. Kampala to London to Mississippi. Childhood to adolescence to adulthood. Passion to Patriotism to Prejudice. Devotion to dilemma to disregard. Excellent!