Sarita Choudhury's acting career was marked by a deliberate choice to focus on independent films, following the success of her debut film "Mississippi Masala" (1991),which became an art house hit. This decision was a deliberate attempt to avoid the commercialism of Hollywood, opting instead for a more nuanced and authentic approach to her craft.
Born to a half-Indian, half-English family, Choudhury's upbringing was a multicultural one, with stints in Jamaica, Mexico, and Italy. She studied economics at Queens University in Ontario before switching to acting, and it was during this time that she began to audition for various roles.
Her breakthrough came when she was cast as the lead in "Mississippi Masala" (1991),opposite Denzel Washington, in an interracial romance that explored the complex relationships between a Southern African American man and a transplanted Indian woman. Despite the film's surprise success, Choudhury remained committed to her non-Hollywood roots, using her unique looks and talent to take on a diverse range of roles.
These roles included a Pakistani country-western singer in "Wild West" (1992),a Chilean maid who is raped in Bille August's adaptation of "The House of the Spirits" (1993),and a lesbian mother in "Fresh Kill" (1994). Choudhury's collaborations with director Mira Nair continued, with roles in "The Perez Family" (1995) and "Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love" (1996),the latter of which saw her play the role of the cuckolded queen Tara.
By the late 1990s, Choudhury began to incorporate Hollywood-style productions into her repertoire, with supporting roles in the glossy "A Perfect Murder" (1998) and the John Cassavetes retread "Gloria" (1999).
