Mira Nair
Encyclopedia
Mira Nair is an India
n film director
and producer
based in New York
. Her production company is Mirabai Films
.
She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University
. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay!
(1988), won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival
and also earned the nomination for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
. She used the proceeds of the film, to establish an organization for street children
, called the Salaam Baalak Trust
in India. She often works with longtime creative collaborator, screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala
, whom she met at Harvard.
She has won a number of awards, including a National Film Award
and various international film 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 Year-2007, which was presented by Indra Nooyi
, Chairperson and CEO, PepsiCo
, Inc, and India Abroad
Person of the Year-2006.
Her most recent films included Vanity Fair
with Reese Witherspoon
, The Namesake
, and Amelia
.
, was born in Rourkela
, Orissa
where her father was employed. She was the youngest of three children from a middle-class family. Her father was a civil servant and her mother a social worker.
Mira did her early schooling at a boarding school, Loreto Convent Tara Hall in Shimla
, Himachal Pradesh
. She studied sociology at Miranda House
, Delhi University, where she became involved in political street theater and performed for three years in an amateur drama company. In 1976, at age 19 she left for the US with a scholarship at Harvard University
, where she continued her studies in sociology. While at Harvard she met her first husband, photographer Mitch Epstein
, as well as her screenwriter, Sooni Taraporevala
and gradually moved towards making documentary films.indian
. India Cabaret, a film about the lives of strippers in a Bombay nightclub, won the Blue Ribbon award at the 1986 American Film Festival.
Salaam Bombay!
(1988), with a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala
, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
and won many other awards. It is today considered a groundbreaking film classic, and is standard fare for film students.
The 1991 film Mississippi Masala
starred Denzel Washington
and Sarita Choudhury
, and profiled a family of displaced Uganda
n-Indians living and working in Mississippi
. The screenplay was again by Sooni Taraporevala
, and produced by Michael Nozik
. In 1995 her film adaption
of the book The Perez Family, by Christine Bell, was released. The film starred Marisa Tomei
, Alfred Molina
, and Angelica Huston, and was again produced by Michael Nozik
.
She was also the director of the movie Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
a provocative movie set in 16th century
India.
In 1998 she made My Own Country starring Naveen Andrews
. It was produced for HBO Films
and adapted from the memoir
by Abraham Verghese
by Sooni Taraporevala
.
In 2001 she released Monsoon Wedding
(2001), a film 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 first female recipient of the award. 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, a film lab to help East Africa
ns and South Asians learn to make films. Maisha is headquartered in Nair's adopted home of Kampala
, Uganda
. Later that year she rejected an offer 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 effects.".
Her next film, 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. The Namesake, adapted by Sooni Taraporevala
from the novel by Pulitzer Prize
winner Jhumpa Lahiri
, was released in March 2007. The same year she was honoured with the Pride of India award at the 9th Bollywood Movie Awards
for her contributions to the film industry.
She directed a short film 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.
Her biographical film Amelia
was released in October 2009 to predominantly negative reviews.
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
.
in New York City where she is an adjunct professor in the Film Division of the School of Arts
, and where her husband, Professor Mahmood Mamdani
, also teaches. Nair and her husband first met in 1988, when she went to Uganda
for the first time to research for the film Mississippi Masala
. Nair has been an enthusiastic yoga
practitioner for decades; when making a film, she has the cast and crew start the day with a yoga session.
Nair has one son named Zohran.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
based in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Her production company is Mirabai Films
Mirabai Films
Mirabai Films is a film production company founded by director Mira Nair.- Select Filmography :-External links:*...
.
She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay!
Salaam Bombay!
Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay...
(1988), won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
and also earned the nomination for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
. She used the proceeds of the film, to establish an organization for street children
Street children
A street child is a child who lives on the streets of a city, deprived of family care and protection. Most children on the streets are between the ages of about 5 and 17 years old.Street children live in junk boxes, parks or on the street itself...
, called the Salaam Baalak Trust
Salaam Baalak Trust
Salaam Baalak Trust is an Indian Non-profit and Non-governmental organization, established in 1988 with the proceeds from the film "Salaam Bombay!" made on street children by noted film director, Mira Nair , which provides support for street and working children in inner cities of New Delhi,...
in India. She often works with longtime creative collaborator, screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala
Sooni Taraporevala
Sooni Taraporevala is an internationally acclaimed screenwriter and photographer, currently based in India. She is best known as the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala, The Namesake and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay , all directed by Mira Nair.She directed her first feature film, based on a...
, whom she met at Harvard.
She has won a number of awards, including a National Film Award
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...
and various international film festival awards, and was a nominee at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTA Awards
British Academy Film Awards
The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . It is the British counterpart of the Oscars. As of 2008, it has taken place in the Royal Opera House, having taken over from the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square...
and Filmfare Awards
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
. She was also awarded the India Abroad
India Abroad
India Abroad is a weekly newspaper published from New York City, which focuses on Indian news meant for an Indian American, Indian diaspora and expatriate audience. The publication is known for its annual award ceremony for the "India Abroad Person of the Year."India Abroad was founded by Indian...
Person of the Year-2007, which was presented by Indra Nooyi
Indra Nooyi
Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi is an Indian-born American business executive. She is the current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo, the second largest food & beverage business in the world ....
, Chairperson and CEO, PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
, Inc, and India Abroad
India Abroad
India Abroad is a weekly newspaper published from New York City, which focuses on Indian news meant for an Indian American, Indian diaspora and expatriate audience. The publication is known for its annual award ceremony for the "India Abroad Person of the Year."India Abroad was founded by Indian...
Person of the Year-2006.
Her most recent films included Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (2004 film)
Vanity Fair is a 2004 British-American costume drama film directed by Mira Nair and adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray's novel of the same name...
with Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
, The Namesake
The Namesake (film)
The Namesake is a 2006 film which was released in the United States on March 9, 2007, following screenings at film festivals in Toronto and New York City. It was directed by Mira Nair and is based upon the novel of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri, who appeared in the movie. Sooni Taraporevala...
, and Amelia
Amelia (film)
Amelia is a 2009 English-language biographical film of the life of Amelia Earhart, starring Hilary Swank as Earhart along with a cast that includes Richard Gere, Christopher Eccleston and Ewan McGregor. It is directed by Mira Nair based on a script initially written by Ronald Bass...
.
Early life
Mira Nair, a PunjabiPunjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
, was born in Rourkela
Rourkela
Rourkela is located in the northwestern tip of the Indian state of Orissa at the heart of a rich mineral belt. It is situated about north of state capital Bhubaneswar.It is surrounded by a range of hills and encircled by rivers. One of the largest steel plants of the Steel Authority of India...
, Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
where her father was employed. She was the youngest of three children from a middle-class family. Her father was a civil servant and her mother a social worker.
Mira did her early schooling at a boarding school, Loreto Convent Tara Hall in Shimla
Shimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
, Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
. She studied sociology at Miranda House
Miranda House
Miranda House , is a highly renowned and distinguished constituent college for women at the University of Delhi in India. It is widely regarded as a Premier Women's Institution of Delhi University offering degrees in the Sciences and Liberal Arts . Miranda House has demonstrated academic...
, Delhi University, where she became involved in political street theater and performed for three years in an amateur drama company. In 1976, at age 19 she left for the US with a scholarship at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where she continued her studies in sociology. While at Harvard she met her first husband, photographer Mitch Epstein
Mitch Epstein
Mitchell "Mitch" Epstein is an American photographer whose photographs are in numerous major museum collections, including New York's Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum of American Art, The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Tate Modern in...
, as well as her screenwriter, Sooni Taraporevala
Sooni Taraporevala
Sooni Taraporevala is an internationally acclaimed screenwriter and photographer, currently based in India. She is best known as the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala, The Namesake and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay , all directed by Mira Nair.She directed her first feature film, based on a...
and gradually moved towards making documentary films.indian
Career
At the beginning of her career as a film artist, Nair directed four television documentariesDocumentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
. India Cabaret, a film about the lives of strippers in a Bombay nightclub, won the Blue Ribbon award at the 1986 American Film Festival.
Salaam Bombay!
Salaam Bombay!
Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay...
(1988), with a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala
Sooni Taraporevala
Sooni Taraporevala is an internationally acclaimed screenwriter and photographer, currently based in India. She is best known as the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala, The Namesake and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay , all directed by Mira Nair.She directed her first feature film, based on a...
, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
and won many other awards. It is today considered a groundbreaking film classic, and is standard fare for film students.
The 1991 film Mississippi Masala
Mississippi Masala
Mississippi Masala is a romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores interracial romance between African Americans and Indian Americans...
starred Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
and Sarita Choudhury
Sarita Choudhury
Sarita Catherine Louise Choudhury is an English actress.-Biography:Choudhury was born in Blackheath, London, England, of half Bengali-Indian and half English descent. Her parents, Prabhas Chandra Choudhury, a scientist, and Julia Patricia Spring, married in 1964 in Lucea, Jamaica...
, and profiled a family of displaced Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
n-Indians living and working in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. The screenplay was again by Sooni Taraporevala
Sooni Taraporevala
Sooni Taraporevala is an internationally acclaimed screenwriter and photographer, currently based in India. She is best known as the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala, The Namesake and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay , all directed by Mira Nair.She directed her first feature film, based on a...
, and produced by Michael Nozik
Michael Nozik
Michael Nozik is an American film producer. He won a BAFTA award for The Motorcycle Diaries in the category of 'Best Film Not In The English Language' in 2004. His credits also include Love in the Time of Cholera, Syriana, Quiz Show, and The Legend of Bagger Vance.- Filmography :- External links :...
. In 1995 her film adaption
The Perez Family
The Perez Family is a comedy film released in 1995, about a group of Cuban refugees in America, who pretend to be a family. It starred Marisa Tomei, Alfred Molina, Anjelica Huston, Chazz Palminteri, and other well known actors. It was based on the 1991 novel The Perez Family by Christine Bell...
of the book The Perez Family, by Christine Bell, was released. The film starred Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Following her work on As The World Turns, Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987...
, Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina is a British-born American actor. He first came to public attention in the UK for his supporting role in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears...
, and Angelica Huston, and was again produced by Michael Nozik
Michael Nozik
Michael Nozik is an American film producer. He won a BAFTA award for The Motorcycle Diaries in the category of 'Best Film Not In The English Language' in 2004. His credits also include Love in the Time of Cholera, Syriana, Quiz Show, and The Legend of Bagger Vance.- Filmography :- External links :...
.
She was also the director of the movie Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love is a 1996 American drama film directed by Mira Nair. The film takes its title from the ancient Indian text, the Kama Sutra, but this only serves as a common link between the characters....
a provocative movie set in 16th century
16th century
As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century lasted from 1501 to 1600. It is regarded by historians as the century in which the rise of the West occurred....
India.
In 1998 she made My Own Country starring Naveen Andrews
Naveen Andrews
Naveen William Sidney Andrews is a British American actor. He is best known for portraying Kip in the movie The English Patient and Sayid Jarrah on the American television series Lost.-Early life:...
. It was produced for HBO Films
HBO Films
HBO Films is a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. While much of HBO Films' output is created directly for the television market, such as the film Witness Protection and the mini-series Band of Brothers, Pacific, Generation Kill and Angels in...
and adapted from the memoir
My Own Country
My Own Country, Abraham Verghese's first book and a New York Times Notable Book the year it appeared in 1994, has been in print since it was published...
by Abraham Verghese
Abraham Verghese
Abraham Verghese is Professor for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at Stanford University Medical School and Senior Associate Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine. He was born in Ethiopia to parents from Kerala, India who worked as teachers. He is a Syro-Malabar Christian...
by Sooni Taraporevala
Sooni Taraporevala
Sooni Taraporevala is an internationally acclaimed screenwriter and photographer, currently based in India. She is best known as the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala, The Namesake and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay , all directed by Mira Nair.She directed her first feature film, based on a...
.
In 2001 she released Monsoon Wedding
Monsoon Wedding
* Originally featured in the Hindi film Loafer * Originally featured in the Hindi film Biwi No.1 -Awards:The movie won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival...
(2001), a film about a chaotic Punjabi Indian wedding with a screenplay by Sabrina Dhawan
Sabrina Dhawan
Sabrina Dhawan is an England-born Indian screenwriter. She was born in England and was raised in New Delhi, India.Dhawan is most well known for Monsoon Wedding, a 2001 film directed by Mira Nair; and for Cosmopolitan, a 2003 American cross-cultural romance film directed by Nisha Ganatra and...
. It was awarded the Golden Lion award
Golden Lion
Il Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...
at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
, making Nair the first female recipient of the award. After the success of Monsoon Wedding Nair collaborated with writer Julian Fellowes
Julian Fellowes
Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford, DL , known as Julian Fellowes, is an English actor, novelist, film director and screenwriter, as well as a Conservative peer.-Early life:...
on her 2004 adaptation
Vanity Fair (2004 film)
Vanity Fair is a 2004 British-American costume drama film directed by Mira Nair and adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray's novel of the same name...
of Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
's novel Vanity Fair starring Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
. The same year she also founded Maisha, a film lab to help East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
ns and South Asians learn to make films. Maisha is headquartered in Nair's adopted home of Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. Later that year she rejected an offer to direct Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2007 fantasy film directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the fifth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Michael Goldenberg and produced by David Heyman and David Barron...
saying, "...I would prefer someone else make it. I am better suited to emotions, human beings, and less interested in special effects.".
Her next film, The Namesake
The Namesake (film)
The Namesake is a 2006 film which was released in the United States on March 9, 2007, following screenings at film festivals in Toronto and New York City. It was directed by Mira Nair and is based upon the novel of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri, who appeared in the movie. Sooni Taraporevala...
, premiered in fall 2006 at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
where Nair was presented with the Dartmouth Film Award. Another premiere was held in fall 2006 with the Indo-American Arts Council
Indo-American Arts Council
The Indo-American Arts Council is an American non-profit cultural organization that promotes Indian art, theatre, film, fashion, music and dance in the United States. The Council was established in 1998 in New York City...
in New York. The Namesake, adapted by Sooni Taraporevala
Sooni Taraporevala
Sooni Taraporevala is an internationally acclaimed screenwriter and photographer, currently based in India. She is best known as the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala, The Namesake and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay , all directed by Mira Nair.She directed her first feature film, based on a...
from the novel by Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winner Jhumpa Lahiri
Jhumpa Lahiri
Jhumpa Lahiri is a Bengali American author. Lahiri's debut short story collection, Interpreter of Maladies , won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and her first novel, The Namesake , was adapted into the popular film of the same name. She was born Nilanjana Sudeshna, which she says are both...
, was released in March 2007. The same year she was honoured with the Pride of India award at the 9th Bollywood Movie Awards
Bollywood Movie Awards
The Bollywood Movie Awards was an annual film award ceremony held between 1999 and 2007 in Long Island, New York, United States, celebrating films and actors from the Bollywood film industry based in Mumbai, India.-History:...
for her contributions to the film industry.
She directed a short film in New York, I Love You
New York, I Love You
New York, I Love You is a 2009 romance film released in the United States on October 16, 2009. From the producer of Paris, je t'aime, it stars an ensemble cast, among them Bradley Cooper, Shia LaBeouf, Natalie Portman, Anton Yelchin, Hayden Christensen, Orlando Bloom, Irrfan Khan, Rachel Bilson,...
, a romantic-drama anthology of love stories set in New York and a 12-minute movie on AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
awareness (funded by The Gates Foundation) called Migration.
Her biographical film Amelia
Amelia (film)
Amelia is a 2009 English-language biographical film of the life of Amelia Earhart, starring Hilary Swank as Earhart along with a cast that includes Richard Gere, Christopher Eccleston and Ewan McGregor. It is directed by Mira Nair based on a script initially written by Ronald Bass...
was released in October 2009 to predominantly negative reviews.
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
Mohsin Hamid
Mohsin Hamid is a Pakistani author best known for his novels Moth Smoke and The Reluctant Fundamentalist .- Biography :...
's 2007 novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a novel by Mohsin Hamid, published in 2007.The novel uses the technique of a frame story, which takes place during the course of a single evening in an outdoor Lahore cafe, where a bearded Pakistani man called Changez tells a nervous American stranger about his love...
.
Personal life
Nair lives near Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City where she is an adjunct professor in the Film Division of the School of Arts
Columbia University School of the Arts
The Columbia University School of the Arts , also known simply as the School of the Arts or as SoA, is the division of the university that offers Master of Fine Arts degrees in Film, Visual Arts, Theatre Arts, and Writing, as well as a Master of Arts degree in Film Studies...
, and where her husband, Professor Mahmood Mamdani
Mahmood Mamdani
Mahmood Mamdani is an academic, author and political commentator. He is a Professor and Director of the at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, and the Herbert Lehman Professor of Government at Columbia University, New York. He grew up in Uganda and acquired his B.A from the University of...
, also teaches. Nair and her husband first met in 1988, when she went to Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
for the first time to research for the film Mississippi Masala
Mississippi Masala
Mississippi Masala is a romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores interracial romance between African Americans and Indian Americans...
. Nair has been an enthusiastic yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
practitioner for decades; when making a film, she has the cast and crew start the day with a yoga session.
Nair has one son named Zohran.
Filmography
- Jama Street Masjid Journal (1979)
- So Far From India (1982)
- India Cabaret (1985)
- Children Of A Desired Sex (1987)
- Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay...
(1988) - Mississippi MasalaMississippi MasalaMississippi Masala is a romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores interracial romance between African Americans and Indian Americans...
(1991) - The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat (1993)
- The Perez Family (1995)
- Kama Sutra: A Tale of LoveKama Sutra: A Tale of LoveKama Sutra: A Tale of Love is a 1996 American drama film directed by Mira Nair. The film takes its title from the ancient Indian text, the Kama Sutra, but this only serves as a common link between the characters....
(1996) - My Own CountryMy Own CountryMy Own Country, Abraham Verghese's first book and a New York Times Notable Book the year it appeared in 1994, has been in print since it was published...
(1998) (Showtime) - Monsoon WeddingMonsoon Wedding* Originally featured in the Hindi film Loafer * Originally featured in the Hindi film Biwi No.1 -Awards:The movie won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival...
(2001) - Hysterical Blindness (2002)
- 11'9"01 September 11 (Segment - "India") (2002)
- Still, The Children are Here (2003)
- Vanity FairVanity Fair (2004 film)Vanity Fair is a 2004 British-American costume drama film directed by Mira Nair and adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray's novel of the same name...
(2004) - The NamesakeThe Namesake (film)The Namesake is a 2006 film which was released in the United States on March 9, 2007, following screenings at film festivals in Toronto and New York City. It was directed by Mira Nair and is based upon the novel of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri, who appeared in the movie. Sooni Taraporevala...
(2006) - Migration (AIDS Jaago) (2007)
- New York, I Love YouNew York, I Love YouNew York, I Love You is a 2009 romance film released in the United States on October 16, 2009. From the producer of Paris, je t'aime, it stars an ensemble cast, among them Bradley Cooper, Shia LaBeouf, Natalie Portman, Anton Yelchin, Hayden Christensen, Orlando Bloom, Irrfan Khan, Rachel Bilson,...
(Segment - "Kosher Vegetarian") (2009) - 88 (2008 film)8 is a series of eight short films centered on the eight Millennium Development Goals.-Topics:Eight directors had "carte blanche" to treat one of the eight topics:*Segment by Abderrahmane Sissako: Tiya's dream...
(Segment - "How can it be?") (2008) - AmeliaAmelia (film)Amelia is a 2009 English-language biographical film of the life of Amelia Earhart, starring Hilary Swank as Earhart along with a cast that includes Richard Gere, Christopher Eccleston and Ewan McGregor. It is directed by Mira Nair based on a script initially written by Ronald Bass...
(2009)
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
- 1988: Audience Award, Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film FestivalThe Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
: Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay... - 1988: Golden CameraCaméra d'OrThe Caméra d'Or is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections ....
(Best First Film), Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film FestivalThe Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
: Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay... - 1988: National Film Award for Best Feature Film in HindiNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in HindiThe National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi awards the best regional film in Hindi language. Initially the award was known as the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi. The winners in this category are:...
: Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay... - 1988: National Board of Review AwardNational Board of Review Awards 1988The 60th National Board of Review Awards were announced on December 13, 1988, and given on February 27, 1989.-Top 10 films:#Mississippi Burning#Dangerous Liaisons#The Accused#The Unbearable Lightness of Being...
for Top Foreign Films: Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay... - 1988: "Jury Prize", "Most Popular Film" and "Prize of the Ecumenical JuryPrize of the Ecumenical JuryThe Prize of the Ecumenical Jury is an independent film award for feature films at the Cannes Film Festival since 1974. The Ecumenical Jury is one of three juries at the Cannes Film Festival, along with the official jury and the FIPRESCI jury. The award was created by Christian film makers, film...
" at Montreal World Film FestivalMontreal World Film FestivalThe Montreal World Film Festival , founded in 1977, is one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF...
: Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay... - 1988: New Generation Award, Los Angeles Film Critics Association AwardsLos Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 1988The 14th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards were announced on 10 December 1988 and given on 24 January 1989.-Winners:*Best Picture:**Little Dorrit**Runner-up: Dead Ringers*Best Director:...
- 1988: Lilian Gish Award (Excellence in Feature Film), Los Angeles Women in Film Festival: Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay...
- 1991: Golden OsellaGolden OsellaThe Golden Osella is the name of several awards given at the Venice Film Festival. They are awarded irregularly and in various categories such as directing, screenwriting, cinematography and 'technical contributions'.-Best Director:...
(Best Original Screenplay), Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
: Mississippi MasalaMississippi MasalaMississippi Masala is a romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores interracial romance between African Americans and Indian Americans...
(with Sooni TaraporevalaSooni TaraporevalaSooni Taraporevala is an internationally acclaimed screenwriter and photographer, currently based in India. She is best known as the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala, The Namesake and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay , all directed by Mira Nair.She directed her first feature film, based on a...
) - 1991: Critics Special Award, São Paulo International Film FestivalSão Paulo International Film FestivalThe São Paulo International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in São Paulo, Brazil since 1976. In 2004 Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami was a member of the jury.-International Jury Award:*2001: The New Country ...
: Mississippi MasalaMississippi MasalaMississippi Masala is a romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores interracial romance between African Americans and Indian Americans... - 1992: Best Director (Foreign Film), Italian National Syndicate of Film JournalistsNastro d'ArgentoThe Nastro d'Argento is a movie award assigned each year, since 1946, for cinematic performances and production by Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani, the association of Italian film critics...
: Mississippi MasalaMississippi MasalaMississippi Masala is a romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores interracial romance between African Americans and Indian Americans... - 1992: Asian Media Award, Asian American International Film Festival
- 1993: Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature: Mississippi MasalaMississippi MasalaMississippi Masala is a romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores interracial romance between African Americans and Indian Americans...
- 2000: Special Mention (Documentary and Essay), Biarritz International Festival of Audiovisual Programming: The Laughing Club of India
- 2001: Golden LionGolden LionIl Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...
(Best Film), Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
: Monsoon WeddingMonsoon Wedding* Originally featured in the Hindi film Loafer * Originally featured in the Hindi film Biwi No.1 -Awards:The movie won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival... - 2001: Laterna Magica Prize, Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
: Monsoon WeddingMonsoon Wedding* Originally featured in the Hindi film Loafer * Originally featured in the Hindi film Biwi No.1 -Awards:The movie won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival... - 2002: Audience Award, Canberra International Film FestivalCanberra International Film FestivalThe Canberra International Film Festival began in 1996. All the films shown have been Canberra premieres, and many of them have also been Australian premieres.- History :...
: Monsoon WeddingMonsoon Wedding* Originally featured in the Hindi film Loafer * Originally featured in the Hindi film Biwi No.1 -Awards:The movie won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival... - 2002: Special Award for International Cinema, Zee Cine AwardsZee Cine AwardsThe Zee Cine Awards or "ZCA" for short is an awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. It was first held in 1998 in Mumbai. Since then, it has gained substantial popularity as a notable awards ceremony to the Indian population as well as to the viewers of Zee Network.In 2004, the ZCA went...
: Monsoon WeddingMonsoon Wedding* Originally featured in the Hindi film Loafer * Originally featured in the Hindi film Biwi No.1 -Awards:The movie won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival... - 2002: UNESCO Award, Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
: 11'9"01 September 11 - 2004: Faith Hubley Web of Life Award, Rochester-High Falls International Film FestivalRochester-High Falls International Film FestivalThe 360 | 365 Film Festival is an annual film festival held each spring in Rochester, New York. The executive director of the festival was Rosie Taravella from 2006-2009...
- 2007: "Golden Aphrodite", Love is Folly International Film Festival (BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
): The NamesakeThe Namesake (film)The Namesake is a 2006 film which was released in the United States on March 9, 2007, following screenings at film festivals in Toronto and New York City. It was directed by Mira Nair and is based upon the novel of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri, who appeared in the movie. Sooni Taraporevala...
Nominations
- 1989: Academy Award for Best Foreign Language FilmAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language FilmThe Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
: Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay... - 1989: César Award for Best Foreign FilmCésar Award for Best Foreign FilmThis is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Foreign Film .-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
(Meilleur film étranger): Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay... - 1989: Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language FilmGolden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language FilmThe Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the awards presented at the Golden Globes, an American film awards ceremony.Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film could be honoured...
: Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay... - 1990: BAFTA Film Award Best Film not in the English LanguageBAFTA Award for Best FilmThis page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards...
: Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay... - 1990: Filmfare Best Director AwardFilmfare Best Director AwardThe Filmfare Best Director Award is one of the main awards presented given by the annual Filmfare Awards to recognise directors working in the Hindi film Industry. It was first presented in 1954 in the inaugural year.-Superlatives:...
: Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay... - 1990: Filmfare Best Movie AwardFilmfare Best Movie AwardThe Filmfare Best Film Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.The award was first given in 1954. Here is a list of the award winners and the nominees of the respective years...
: Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay... - 1991: Golden LionGolden LionIl Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...
(Best Film), Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
: Mississippi MasalaMississippi MasalaMississippi Masala is a romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores interracial romance between African Americans and Indian Americans... - 1996: Golden Seashell, San Sebastián International Film FestivalSan Sebastián International Film FestivalThe San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...
: Kama Sutra: A Tale of LoveKama Sutra: A Tale of LoveKama Sutra: A Tale of Love is a 1996 American drama film directed by Mira Nair. The film takes its title from the ancient Indian text, the Kama Sutra, but this only serves as a common link between the characters.... - 1999: Best Film, Verzaubert International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival: My Own CountryMy Own CountryMy Own Country, Abraham Verghese's first book and a New York Times Notable Book the year it appeared in 1994, has been in print since it was published...
- 2001: Screen International Award (Best Non-European Film), European Film Awards: Monsoon WeddingMonsoon Wedding* Originally featured in the Hindi film Loafer * Originally featured in the Hindi film Biwi No.1 -Awards:The movie won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival...
- 2001: Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language FilmGolden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language FilmThe Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the awards presented at the Golden Globes, an American film awards ceremony.Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film could be honoured...
: Monsoon WeddingMonsoon Wedding* Originally featured in the Hindi film Loafer * Originally featured in the Hindi film Biwi No.1 -Awards:The movie won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival... - 2002: BAFTA Film Award Best Film not in the English LanguageBAFTA Award for Best FilmThis page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards...
: Monsoon WeddingMonsoon Wedding* Originally featured in the Hindi film Loafer * Originally featured in the Hindi film Biwi No.1 -Awards:The movie won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival... - 2003: Chlotrudis AwardChlotrudis Awards 2003The 9th Annual Chlotrudis Awards were presented March 15, 2003, by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film. Honoring the best of the past year's independent, documentary and international film, the awards ceremony took place at the venerable Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts...
for Best Director: Monsoon WeddingMonsoon Wedding* Originally featured in the Hindi film Loafer * Originally featured in the Hindi film Biwi No.1 -Awards:The movie won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival... - 2003: Golden Star, International Film Festival of MarrakechInternational Film Festival of MarrakechThe International Film Festival of Marrakech is an international film festival held annually in Marrakech, Morocco.-Overview:Since its inaugural year in 2000, the FIFM has been one of the biggest events devoted to Moroccan cinema...
: Hysterical Blindness - 2003: César Award for Best Film from the European UnionCésar Award for Best Film from the European UnionThis is a list of the winners of and nominees for the César Award for Best Film from the European Union . The prize was awarded three times, in 2003, 2004 and 2005, and was subsequently discontinued...
: 11'9"01 September 11 - 2004: Golden LionGolden LionIl Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...
(Best Film), Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
: Vanity FairVanity Fair (2004 film)Vanity Fair is a 2004 British-American costume drama film directed by Mira Nair and adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray's novel of the same name... - 2007: Gotham AwardGotham Awards 2007-Best Ensemble Cast: Before the Devil Knows You're Dead - Albert Finney, Rosemary Harris, Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Brian F. O'Byrne, Amy Ryan, Michael Shannon, Marisa Tomei...
for Best Film: The NamesakeThe Namesake (film)The Namesake is a 2006 film which was released in the United States on March 9, 2007, following screenings at film festivals in Toronto and New York City. It was directed by Mira Nair and is based upon the novel of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri, who appeared in the movie. Sooni Taraporevala...
Further reading
- Jigna Desai: Beyond Bollywood: The cultural politics of South Asian diasporic film. 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. 48–69.
- Alpana Sharma: Body matters: the politics of provocation in Mira Nair's films. QRFV : Quarterly review of film and video, ISSN 1050-9208 ; 18(2001):1, pp. 91–103.
- Pratibha Parmar: Mira Nair: filmmaking in the streets of Bombay. Spare rib, ISSN 0306-7971; 198, 1989, pp. 28–29.
- Gwendolyn Audrey Foster: Women Filmmakers of the African and Asian Diaspora: Decolonizing the Gaze, Locating Subjectivity. Carbondale, Ill. : Southern Illinois University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-8093-2120-3
- John Kenneth Muir: Mercy in Her Eyes: The Films of Mira Nair. Hal Leonard, 2006. ISBN 1557836493, 9781557836496.
External links
- Mira Nair Bibliography (via UC Media Resources Center Berkeley)
- SAWNET biography
- Biography
- Maisha Film Lab in Kampala, Uganda
- Nair's Kamasutra Kamasutra Movie Review
- Video Interview on LX.TV
- A Conversation with Mira Nair - Harvard @ Home program
- featured profile of Mira Nair - on MirabaiFilms.com
- Video interview with The Namesake director on Sidewalks EntertainmentSidewalks EntertainmentSidewalks Entertainment is a long-running, weekly American television series that is a combination of a talk show, magazine show and variety show featuring celebrity interviews, music, artistic and novelty acts, and rising performers...
- Video: Mira Nair at the Asia Society, Dec. 10, 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 film festival, Al Jazeera English, Dec 2009