Mira Nair

Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian lm

maker and actress based in New York.[1] Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in lms for international audiences that act as native informers on
Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural spheres. Among her best known lms are Mississippi
Masala, Monsoon Wedding, and The Namesake.

lm, Salaam Bombay!, released after delays in 1988. The

lm, about utter squalor, grinding poverty, brave persistence and spunky hope among people living in the slums
of Mumbai, was exactly calculated to appeal to western
lm award juries. The story, a cacophonous medley of
endemic street violence, daylight banditry, forced prostitution, drug pushing, kidnapping for forced labor and
nally murder, purported to represent the life of a young
boy growing up on the mean streets of Bombay. Although
it provided a rich armation of every western stereotype
regarding India, the lm found only a limited release, after much delay, and did not do well at the box oce, perhaps because its darkness was relentless until almost the
end of the lm. It was however received as gospel and revelation by lm-award juries. It won the Golden Camera
award at the Cannes Film Festival and was a nominee for
the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[4]

Biography

Mira Nair was born on 15 October 1957 in Rourkela,

Odisha, and grew up with her two brothers in
Bhubaneshwar, Odisha.[2] She was enamored of the world
of lms and glamour, and deeply discontented in the
small-town environment of Bhubaneshwar. In 1975, she
completed school and moved to Delhi, to study literature at Miranda House. However, theatre and networking
took up nearly all of the one year she spent in Delhi before
moving in 1976 to Harvard, to attend a one-year course in
documentary lm-making techniques.[3] This short-term
course was to be the only formal post-high-school education she was ever to receive.

First marriage and early career

During her year in Harvard, Nair met and married the

photographer Mitch Epstein, and remained in the USA,
a country she had idealized from childhood. She also did
not pursue a career for nearly a decade, making a couple Nair at the Zanzibar International Film Festival, 2013
of forgettable short lms as a hobby. In 1979, she produced a short lm, Jama Masjid Street Journal, based
on video footage of a single walkabout and casual oncamera chats she had with local people on the street lead- 4 Second marriage and subsequent
ing to the Jama Masjid mosque in old Delhi. In 1983,
lms
she made a short documentary on Indians living abroad,
composed of interviews with family members and personal friends living outside India.
She lives in New York City, near Columbia University,
where she is an adjunct professor in the Film Division of
the School of Arts, and where her second husband, Professor Mahmood Mamdani, also teaches.[5][6] Nair and
3 Salaam Bombay!
her husband rst met in 1988, when she went to Uganda
rst time to research for the lm Mississippi
These years of relative idleness, and of interaction with for the [7]
Masala.
her husbands family and other Americans, gave Nair
deep insights into the American perception of India, and
what kind of lm would make a splash in that society.
Ironically, just as her marriage was breaking down in
the mid-1980s, these insights came together in her debut

Nair has been an enthusiastic yoga practitioner for

decades; when making a lm, she has the cast and crew
start the day with a yoga session.[8] Nair and Mamdani
have one son named Zohran.[9]
1

6 FILMOGRAPHY

In 2001 she released Monsoon Wedding (2001), a lm

about a chaotic Punjabi Indian wedding, with a screenplay by Sabrina Dhawan. It was awarded the Golden Lion
award at the Venice Film Festival, making Nair the rst
female recipient of the award.[10] After the success of
Monsoon Wedding, Nair collaborated with writer Julian
Fellowes on her 2004 adaptation of Thackeray's novel
Vanity Fair, starring Reese Witherspoon. The same year
she also founded Maisha Film Lab to help East Africans
and South Asians learn to make lms.[11] Maisha is headquartered in Nairs adopted home of Kampala, Uganda.
Later that year she rejected an oer to direct Harry Potter
and the Order of Phoenix saying, "... I would prefer someone else make it. I am better suited to emotions, human
beings, and less interested in special eects..[12]
Her next lm, The Namesake, premiered in fall 2006
at Dartmouth College, where Nair was presented with
the Dartmouth Film Award. Another premiere was held
in fall 2006 with the Indo-American Arts Council in
New York.[13] The Namesake, adapted by Sooni Taraporevala from the novel by Pulitzer Prizewinner Jhumpa
Lahiri, was released in March 2007 and the same year
she was honoured with the Pride of India award at the
9th Bollywood Movie Awards for her contributions to the
lm industry.[14][15]
She directed a short lm in New York, I Love You, a
romantic-drama anthology of love stories set in New York
and a 12-minute movie on AIDS awareness (funded by
The Gates Foundation) called Migration.[16][17]
Her biographical lm Amelia was released in October
2009 to predominantly negative reviews.[18][19]

ter account, Nair stated I will go to Israel when the

walls come down. I will go to Israel when occupation
is gone...I will go to Israel when the state does not privilege one religion over another. I will go to Israel when
Apartheid is over. I will go to Israel, soon. I stand w/
Palestine for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) & the larger Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Movt. Nair was subsequently praised by
PACBI, which stated that her decision to boycott Israel
helps to highlight the struggle against colonialism and
apartheid. She subsequently tweeted I will go to Israel,
soon.[25][26][27][28][29][30]

6 Filmography
Jama Street Masjid Journal (1979)
So Far From India (1982)
India Cabaret (1985)
Children of a Desired Sex (1987)
Salaam Bombay! (1988)[24]
Mississippi Masala (1991)[24]
The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat (1993)
The Perez Family (1995)[24]
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996)[24]

For several years, Nair was attached to a big-budget adaptation of the novel Shantaram, but the production was
shelved in 2009. Nair has also purchased the rights to
Mohsin Hamid's 2007 novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist.[20]

My Own Country (1998) (Showtime)

Mira Nair has recently slated Govinda to play the lead in

her upcoming lm The Bengali Detective.[21]

11'9"01 September 11 (Segment - India) (2002)

She has won a number of awards, including a National

Film Award and various international lm festival awards,
and was a nominee at the Academy Awards, Golden
Globes, BAFTA Awards and Filmfare Awards. She
was also awarded the India Abroad Person of the Year2007.[22] In 2012 she was awarded Indias third highest
civilian award the Padma Bhushan by President of India,
Pratibha Patil.[23]

Still, The Children are Here (2003)

Her most recent lms include Vanity Fair with Reese

Witherspoon, The Namesake and Amelia.[24]

Political views

In July 2013, Nair declined an invitation to the Haifa International Film Festival as a guest of honor to protest
Israel's policies toward Palestine. In postings on her Twit-

Monsoon Wedding (2001)[24]

Hysterical Blindness (2002)

Vanity Fair (2004)[24]

The Namesake (2006)[24]
Migration.. (2007)[31]
New York, I Love You (Segment - Kosher Vegetarian) (2009)[32]
8 (Segment - How can it be?") (2008)[33]
Amelia (2009)[24]
The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013)
Words With Gods (2014)
The Bengali Detective (2015)

7.2

Nominations

Awards

7.1

Wins

1985: Best Documentary Film, Global Village Film

Festival: India Cabaret
1986: Golden Athena, Athens International Film
Festival: India Cabaret
1986: Blue Ribbon, American Film Festival: India
Cabaret

3
2002: Special Award for International Cinema, Zee
Cine Awards: Monsoon Wedding
2002: UNESCO Award, Venice Film Festival:
11'9"01 September 11
2004: Faith Hubley Web of Life Award, RochesterHigh Falls International Film Festival
2007: Golden Aphrodite, Love is Folly International Film Festival (Bulgaria): The Namesake
2012 ; Padma Bhushan by Govt. of India[36]

1988: Audience Award, Cannes Film Festival:

Salaam Bombay!
7.2
1988: Golden Camera (Best First Film), Cannes
Film Festival: Salaam Bombay!
1988: National Film Award for Best Feature Film
in Hindi: Salaam Bombay![34]
1988: National Board of Review Award for Top
Foreign Films: Salaam Bombay!
1988: Jury Prize, Most Popular Film and "Prize
of the Ecumenical Jury" at Montreal World Film
Festival: Salaam Bombay!

Nominations

1989: Academy Award for Best Foreign Language

Film: Salaam Bombay!
1989: Csar Award for Best Foreign Film (Meilleur
lm tranger): Salaam Bombay!
1989: Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film: Salaam Bombay!
1990: BAFTA Film Award Best Film not in the English Language: Salaam Bombay!

1988: New Generation Award, Los Angeles Film

Critics Association Awards

1990: Filmfare Best Director Award: Salaam Bombay!

1988: Lilian Gish Award (Excellence in Feature Film), Los Angeles Women in Film Festival:
Salaam Bombay!

1990: Filmfare Best Movie Award: Salaam Bombay!

1991: Golden Osella (Best Original Screenplay),

Venice Film Festival: Mississippi Masala (with
Sooni Taraporevala)[35]
1991: Critics Special Award, So Paulo International Film Festival: Mississippi Masala
1992: Best Director (Foreign Film), Italian National
Syndicate of Film Journalists: Mississippi Masala
1992: Asian Media Award, Asian American International Film Festival
1993: Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature:
Mississippi Masala
2000: Special Mention (Documentary and Essay),
Biarritz International Festival of Audiovisual Programming: The Laughing Club of India
2001: Golden Lion (Best Film), Venice Film Festival: Monsoon Wedding
2001: Laterna Magica Prize, Venice Film Festival:
Monsoon Wedding
2002: Audience Award, Canberra International
Film Festival: Monsoon Wedding

1991: Golden Lion (Best Film), Venice Film Festival: Mississippi Masala
1996: Golden Seashell, San Sebastin International
Film Festival: Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
1999: Best Film, Verzaubert International Gay &
Lesbian Film Festival: My Own Country
2001: Screen International Award (Best NonEuropean Film), European Film Awards: Monsoon
Wedding
2001: Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film: Monsoon Wedding
2002: BAFTA Film Award Best Film not in the English Language: Monsoon Wedding
2003: Golden Star, International Film Festival of
Marrakech: Hysterical Blindness
2003: Csar Award for Best Film from the European Union: 11'9"01 September 11
2004: Golden Lion (Best Film), Venice Film Festival: Vanity Fair
2007: Gotham Award for Best Film: The Namesake

Further reading
Jigna Desai: Beyond Bollywood: The cultural politics of South Asian diasporic lm. New York: Routledge, 2004, 280 pp. ill. ISBN 0-415-96684-1
(inb.) / ISBN 0-415-96685-X (hft.)
Gita Rajan: Pliant and compliant: colonial Indian art and postcolonial cinema. Women. Oxford
(Print), ISSN 0957-4042 ; 13(2002):1, pp. 4869.

REFERENCES

[12] Borpujari, Utpal (1 December 2004). Mira Nair rejected

Harry Potter oer. Deccan Herald. DH News Service.
Retrieved 28 June 2011.
[13] Sreenivasan, TP (3 November 2006). The Namesake is
excellent. Redi. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
[14] Bollywood to honour Mira Nair with 'Pride of India' award
Hindustan Times, 23 April 2007.
[15] Mira Nair, Asha Parekh honoured at Bollywood awards
in New York. Malaysia Sun. 28 May 2007. Retrieved 8
December 2009.

Alpana Sharma: Body matters: the politics of provocation in Mira Nairs lms. QRFV : Quarterly review
[16] Mira Nairs latest lm project takes the message to Indian
of lm and video, ISSN 1050-9208 ; 18(2001):1,
cinema halls
pp. 91103.
Pratibha Parmar: Mira Nair: lmmaking in the
streets of Bombay. Spare rib, ISSN 0306-7971; 198,
1989, pp. 2829.

[17] Migration. Jaman. Retrieved 13 October 2008.

[18] " 'Amelia' (2009): Reviews. Metacritic.
[19] " 'Amelia' Reviews, Pictures. Rotten Tomatoes, IGN En-

tertainment.
Gwendolyn Audrey Foster: Women Filmmakers of
the African and Asian Diaspora: Decolonizing the
[20] Debesh Bannerjee (8 December 2009). Politeness can
Gaze, Locating Subjectivity. Carbondale, Ill. :
kill you in movies. Screen. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
Southern Illinois University Press, 1997. ISBN 08093-2120-3
[21] [=http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.

John Kenneth Muir: Mercy in Her Eyes: The Films

of Mira Nair. Hal Leonard, 2006. ISBN 1-55783649-3, ISBN 978-1-55783-649-6.

References

[1] Spelling, Ian (1 September 2004). Director likes to do

her own thing. Waterloo Region Record. pp. C4.
[2] 'Namesake a tribute to Ritwik Ghatak', says Mira Nair Mira Nair interview The Indian Express, 22 May 2005.
[3] Mira Nair - Biography. The New York Times. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
[4] Crossette, Barabara (23 December 1990). Homeless and
Hungry Youths of India. The New York Times. Retrieved
13 October 2008.
[5] Faculty Columbia University School of the Arts
[6] Solomon, Deborah (29 August 2004). Alls Fair. The
New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
[7] Namesake Interview News, Redi.com, 21 March 2007.

asp?skin=pastissues2&enter=LowLevel&AW=
1388468427762 Bengali Sleuth, Bollywood Style"].
[22] Mira Nair is India Abroad Person of the Year 2007 News,
Redi.com, 29 March 2008.
[23] Mira Nair Gets Padma Bhushan News, Reuters, 25 January 2012.
[24] Mira Nairs works to be screened at IFFI 2010. NDTV.
Press Trust of India. 25 November 2010. Retrieved 28
June 2011.
[25] Film director Mira Nair boycotting Haifa festival, Jewish
Telegraphic Agency, 21 July 2013.
[26] Mira Nair turns down invite to Israel lm festival, The
Times of India, 23 July 2013.
[27] Mira Nair boycotts Haifa lm festival by Harriet Sherwood, The Observer (reprinted in The Guardian), 21 July
2013.
[28] Prominent lmmaker boycotts Haifa festival to protest
Israeli 'apartheid' by Nirit Anderman, Haaretz, 21 July
2013.
[29] Mira Nair boycotts Israel Film Festival in Palestines support, The Express Tribune, 20 July 2013.

[8] Mira Nair interview with International Herald Tribune

[9] Miller, Winter (18 March 2007). Personal Sound Effects: A Night Out with Mira Nair. The New York Times.
Retrieved 13 October 2008.

[30] Award-winning director boycotts Haifa Film Festival to

protest 'Apartheid', The Jerusalem Post, 21 July 2013.
[31] Mira can't wait to start Shantaram. Redi. 29 November 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2011.

[10] Anna Whitney (10 September 2001). Indian director is

rst woman to win Golden Lion. The Independent (London). Retrieved 8 December 2009.

[32] Vashi, Ashish (1 November 2009). Hollywood says ILU

to Gujarati. The Times of India. Retrieved 28 June 2011.

[11] Maisha Film Lab

[33] 8 Ocial website. Retrieved 25 November 2010.

[34] Taraporevala, Sooni; Mira Nair (1989). Salaam Bombay!.

Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-012724-0.
[35] Sloan, Jane (2007). Reel women. Scarecrow Press. ISBN
0-8108-5738-3.
[36] Padma Awards. pib. 27 January 2013. Retrieved 27
January 2013.

10

External links

Mira Nair Bibliography (via UC Media Resources

Center Berkeley)
SAWNET biography
Biography
Mira Nair at the Internet Movie Database
Maisha Film Lab in Kampala, Uganda
Video Interview on LX.TV
A Conversation with Mira Nair - Harvard @ Home
program
Prole of Mira Nair - on MirabaiFilms.com
Video interview with The Namesake director on
Sidewalks Entertainment
Video: Mira Nair at the Asia Society, 10 Dec 2009
Mira Nair: A Life in Pictures, BAFTA event video
The Fabulous Picture Show (part 1, part 2) - Master
Class with Mira Nair at the Doha lm festival, Al
Jazeera English, Dec 2009

11

11
11.1

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

Text

Mira Nair Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mira%20Nair?oldid=644949285 Contributors: WojPob, Brion VIBBER, Bryan Derksen,
Koyaanis Qatsi, Yashas, OlofE, Vivin, Jay, Huangdi, Bearcat, Rrjanbiah, Asparagus, David Gerard, Everyking, Gamaliel, LordSimonofShropshire, Huaiwei, Anirvan, Sam, D6, Ouro, Mindspillage, Rich Farmbrough, Sicilarch, Xezbeth, Kwamikagami, Temistokles, Hismattness, Giraedata, Alansohn, Guy Harris, Wiki-uk, Riana, SidP, Grenavitar, Coolmallu, MIT Trekkie, Vonaurum, Tintin1107, The JPS,
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11.3

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