Starring: Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, Roshan Seth, Sharmila Tagore, Charles S. Dutton

The 1990s began with what may be the sexiest Hollywood film made during the last decade of the century, built on the energy of director Mira Nair’s keen eye for detail and the chemistry between the young talents of Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury.

When Mina (Sarita Choudhury), an Indian immigrant in Mississippi, falls for Demetrius (Denzel Washington), a charming carpet cleaner, their love ignites tensions between their families and communities. Torn between tradition and passion, the star-crossed couple fights to chart their own path in this lush, cross-cultural romance. An underseen critical darling at the beginning of the 1990s, Nair’s second feature rightfully found enthusiastic aplomb in the decades since its release, mainly due—let’s be real—to one of the most smoldering couples to ever grace the screen.