Chutney Popcorn

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Chutney Popcorn (1999)

Director: Nisha Ganatra

Writers and Producers: Susan Carnival and Nisha Ganatra

Length: 91 minutes

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Screenshot of Reena, her girlfriend Lisa, and their baby

Synopsis

In this family dramedy, Reena (Nisha Ganatra)—a young Indian American lesbian—has a mother, Meenu (Madhur Jaffrey), who disapproves of her sexual orientation and a “good” sister, Sarita (Sakina Jaffrey), who seems happy to fulfill her mother’s wish of having grandchildren. When Sarita discovers that she is unable to become pregnant, Reena offers to become the surrogate mother for her and her husband (Nick Chinlund). They accept the offer, but Sarita quickly begins to question her life goals, and asks her sister to stop the procedure. Reena is, however, already pregnant. By having this baby, Reena hoped that her relations with her family would improve. Unfortunately, it led to a breakup with her girlfriend Lisa (Jill Hennessy) and highly strained relations with Sarita. What happens when she approaches her due date? The film includes an amazing soundtrack by Karsh Kale.

Significance

This film explores three key themes that will resonate with many Asian Americans. The first is the generation gap between parents—particularly first-generation immigrants—who hold onto more traditional ideas about family, social mores and health and their more “Americanized” children. Chutney Popcorn celebrates the adaptability and resilience of Asian American families. Here, Meenu adjusted traditional rituals to Reena’s sexuality, and Sarita gradually moved away from traditional expectations after she discovered she could not become pregnant. In contrast, Reena gradually became more open to her mother’s practices and beliefs. The second theme is interracial relationships. In this film, Sarita and Reena are in relationships that raise questions about racism, and the roles that non-Asians can or should play in more traditional Asian practices. The third theme is the invisibility of Asian American queer experiences. It is perhaps significant that none of Reena’s lesbian friends are of Asian descent.

The filmmaker

Originally from Vancouver and raised in California, Nisha Ganatra is a Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated director. A graduate of the NYU film program, Ganatra studied with Martin Scorsese, Barbara Kopple, and Spike Lee. Her first feature film, Chutney Popcorn (1999), won awards from L.A. Outfest, the Newport International Film Festival, the Ojai Film Festival, and the International Lesbian and Gay Film Festivals in Paris and San Francisco. Her second film, Cosmopolitan (2003), continued exploring the theme of interracial relationships. Equally at home in film and television, Ganatra has directed episodes of The Real World, Transparent, The Mindy Project, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, You Me Her, Dear White People, Fresh Off the Boat, and many other series. Her most recent films are Late Night (2019) starring Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling, which explores racism, ageism and sexism in the television industry and, in particular, the writing room of a late-night talk show, and The High Note (2020) starring Dakota Johnson and Tracie Ellis Ross, which is about one woman’s struggle to become a music producer.

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Further reading and listening

Official Websites
About Chutney Popcorn
Asian American Queer History and Support Organizations
About Nisha Ganatra

 

Entry Author: Eric Hung

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