Ketan Mehta may be having a tough time releasing his Randeep Hooda-Nandana Sen starrer Rang Rasiya.

But his cult classic Mirch Masala (1987) starring Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri has been selected for a screening at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC on March 20,u00a0during the Maximum India festival.

The ecstatic director said, "It's a moment of great pride for me that Mirch Masala has been selected amongst others to feature portrayal of women in Indian films since the 1960s.
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In the film, we used the metaphor of mirch masala to symbolise the fiery strength of a woman and above all a human being against all forms of oppression."

Mehta will also be a part of discussion on Indian women in films moderated byu00a0 Nandita Das with Shabana Azmi, Sharmila Tagore, director Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Dilip Basu.