Mirch Masala Movie

[Darios Uclaray]

Mirch Masala (Translation: Hot Spice) is a 1987 Hindi psychological thriller film directed by Ketan Mehta. It stars Naseeruddin Shah and Smita Patil in the lead roles. On the centenary of Indian cinema in April 2013, Forbes included Smita Patil's performance in the film on its list, "25 Greatest Acting Performances of Indian Cinema".[1]

In the early 1940s,[2] an arrogant subedar (Naseeruddin Shah) (local tax collector in colonial India) and his henchmen ride into a village, scaring a group of women fetching water. Sonbai (Smita Patil) alone stands her ground and politely asks them not to let horses into the village's potable water source.

Subedar settles into his camp and the Mukhi (trans. the chieftain) of the village visits him to pay respect. Subedar's gramophone is an object of fascination for the men of the village. Mukhi's frequent absence from home is resented by his wife. The schoolmaster (Benjamin Gilani), tries to get her to enrol her only daughter in the school. When she does, other women ridicule her. Mukhi pulls his daughter out and beats his wife for disobeying him. The mukhi's younger brother (Mohan Gokhale) is in love with a lower caste girl, but dares not mention it. When their liaison is found out, the girl's father beats her and tries get the mukhi to agree to a marriage. The mukhi rejects the proposal as unsuitable.

The subedar's men routinely loot the village for food, livestock and supplies. When mukhi brings a woman to him, he is disappointed that she is not Sonbai, but beds her nonetheless. He persists in wooing Sonbai, but when his demands turn forceful, she slaps him across the face and runs away. Enraged, he orders his soldiers to bring her. Sonbai takes refuge in a masala karkhana (spice factory where red chillies are ground into powder). Abu Mian (Om Puri), the wizened old Muslim gatekeeper and factory guard shuts the factory doors keeping the soldiers out. The subedar attempts to get the gates open through the factory owner and the mukhi fail. Abu Mian refuses to compromise on his job of providing security to the factory employees.

Subedar's threats of destroying the village prompt the mukhi to convene the village panchayat. The villagers hold Sonbai responsible for inciting the subedar and decide that she should yield to him. The schoolmaster points out that once they give in for one, there will be nothing to stop the subedar from demanding others, even perhaps the mukhi's own wife. Mukhi thrashes him and throws him out. Mukhi reports back to the subedar that they will hand over Sonbai on the condition that the subedar will not make further demands of this nature. The subedar laughs off this condition and has the schoolmaster tied up to a post.

The mukhi brings pressure on Sonbai, but she stands firm. Within the factory, the women who once supported Sonbai now turn upon her. They fear that if she does not yield, the subedar may send his men to indiscriminately molest the womenfolk. Sonbai nearly relents, but is stopped by Abu Mian. She resolves to stand firm. Abu Mian chides the mukhi and the villagers; they may lord it over their wives at home, but are not man enough to face the subedar.

The subedar orders his soldiers to charge the factory, and they smash down the door. Abu Mian manages to shoot one of the soldiers, but he is shot dead immediately after. The subedar enters the factory and tries to grab Sonbai. The women of the factory mount a sudden and surprising defense. They attack the subedar with bagfuls of lal mirch masala (fresh ground red chilli powder) in teams of two. The film ends with the subedar on his knees, screaming in pain as the chilli burns his face and eyes.

Nobody does it like Mirch Masala. We keep coming back for their great selection of vegetarian entrees - my favorites are the chana masala, dal tadka, and paneer tikka masala. Prices are reasonable as far as Seattle goes, and if you get a side order of naan an entree can easily be tomorrow's lunch as well.

This was my first time trying Indian food so was not sure what to expect and my taste buds were soooo happy! This place was sooooo good, the customer service was excellent and I highly recommend this place!

The staff are all super friendly, engaging and welcoming! The small dining area is beautifully arranged and clean and they even have a full bar! Their Tikki masala , garlic naan , jasmine rice and mango chutney are excellent! I love Indian cuisine for a variety of reasons and Mirch Masala just does it right!

Being very honest it is an amazing restaurant. The food is fresh and good. I ordered tandoori chicken and it was amazing! They are very nice and understanding when it comes to customer service. Definitely would recommend this place for some good Indian food.

If you're blessed to live or work within a few blocks of Mirch Masala, then you also know that along with Mirch, you're blessed with several amazing options for North Indian/Nepalese cuisine. But Mirch has an ace in the hole: if you enjoy lamb, then I positively implore you to try their rack of lamb house specialty.

Clockwise from lower left are garlic naan, Taj Mahal lager, mango lassi, Trapiche Malbec, rice, tandoori shrimp, chai, chicken momo, chicken tikka masala and tofu secuwa at Mirch Masala, located at 439 Grand Canyon Drive.

The dishes that represented standard Indian fare were all executed well, with fresh ingredients and a lot of flavor. A basket of warm, chewy garlic naan ($3.50) arrived first, sprinkled with minced garlic and chopped fresh cilantro. It was followed by the Indian restaurant staple chicken tikka masala ($14.99), a generous portion of white meat chicken pieces in a subtly spiced tomato cream sauce, accompanied by rice.

A pair of vegetarian samosas ($4.50) were pleasantly crunchy, stuffed with a bright yellow mixture of mashed potatoes and peas, all seasoned with curry powder. Tandoori shrimp ($18.95) were nicely seasoned and perfectly cooked in the traditional tandoor clay oven. They came on a sizzling platter accompanied by carmelized roasted onions, providing a sweet and savory textural counterpoint.

The dishes unique to Mirch Masala were both distinctive and delightful. The appetizer plate of Nepali chicken momo ($8.99) was a big hit at our table. Similar to an Asian potsticker, a thin dough was wrapped around a complex filling of chicken spiced with ginger, garlic, cumin and garam masala, then folded into half-moons and steamed. Delicious on their own, these momos were even better dipped into the tomato-based achaar (Indian pickle) sauce served alongside.

But like many restauranteurs, Gokul Silwal is having trouble hiring enough servers to keep the operation running smoothly. When he and Kamala are particularly short-handed, the Silwals depend on help from their two sons.

Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctv...@captimes.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less.

Welcome! I'm Nisha, creator of Love Laugh Mirch. I'm a mom, wife, believer and writer. As a 'Global Desi' I'm passionate about family recipes passed down through generations and Indian culture. Join me here as I share recipes, motherhood moments and life's mirch masala.

Now there are more than a handful (nine, if you count combo spots like Campus Biryani & Gyros and Curry in the Box; even more if you include the Tibetan spots). Like Indian restaurants across the U.S., most here stage all-you-can-eat noontime buffets. If there is a way to induce an American to try Indian food, just trot out the words "all you can eat" and watch the line form. One trip to the lunch wagon for cultural tourism, two trips for gluttony.

Diners don't always get the best of the kitchen from a buffet, but when the average Jill looks at a $10 price tag for soup, bread, multiple appetizers, entrees and desserts, versus paying $13 for one dish of chicken biryani at dinner, the Black Friday gene kicks in.

And honestly, I don't find what's coming out of most of the Indian kitchens at dinner to be so superior to what's on their lunch buffets that it makes the tradeoff worth it. Two years ago, when Sunil Gopal was running his Spice Yatra food cart on the Square, I could look at spending $7 for one plate of his kadai chicken versus spending $8 for the unlimited buffet at Flavor of India and pick Spice Yatra every time, because the flavors rocked so hard. With Spice Yatra gone now, it kind of doesn't matter to me anymore. Bring on the buffet line.

Mirch Masala is Madison's newest Indian restaurant, taking over from Flavor of India in the same Capitol Square space. Mirch Masala (the name means "fresh ground red chili powder") also features some Nepalese dishes; one of the chef-owners used to cook at Chautara.

Mirch's spread is a mix of hits and misses. The vegetable pakora were awful overfried shredded crisps. Small pieces of fried fish were marginal. The vegetable biryani was without much flavor, while the chicken kabob was dry, with a spice paste that looked to be spread on the surface, rather than marinated.

What dishes would tempt me back for seconds? The beef vindaloo, with a deep red-brown gravy, super-tender cubes of rich beef and equally tender pieces of potato, infused with the flavors of the sauce; this had a decent kick. I'd also spoon up more of the baingan bartha, an eggplant stew, which was a sweeter and creamier version of the dish than usual.

There are usually four or five vegetable entrees on the line. A vegetable masala, with potato, cauliflower and peas, was very well cooked and spiced to medium. The alloo chana, though, flopped, with flavorless chickpeas in a too-mild tomato sauce. The buffet's soups, the times I've visited, have been vegetable and chicken vegetable - satisfying in their own way, but how about a dal or a rasam or a mulligatawny?

c80f0f1006