Mira Nair facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mira Nair
Nair on the set of The Reluctant Fundamentalist in November 2011.
Born	(1957-10-15) October 15, 1957 (age 67) Rourkela, Orissa, India
Citizenship	American
Alma mater	Harvard University (BA)
Occupation	Filmmaker
Years active	1986–present
Spouse(s)	Mitch Epstein ​ (div. 1987)​ Mahmood Mamdani ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	Zohran Mamdani
Awards	Padma Bhushan (2012) Golden Lion (2001) Caméra d'Or (1988)

Mira Nair (born October 15, 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker known for making movies that explore different cultures. She started her own film company called Mirabai Films.

Nair has directed many famous movies. Her film Salaam Bombay! was nominated for an Academy Award. Another one of her films, Monsoon Wedding, won the Golden Lion, a top prize at the Venice Film Festival. Her other well-known movies include Mississippi Masala and The Namesake.

Early Life and Schooling

Mira Nair was born in Rourkela, India. She grew up in the city of Bhubaneswar with her parents and two older brothers. Her father was a government officer, and her mother was a social worker.

Nair went to a high school in Shimla, where she grew to love English literature. After high school, she studied sociology at Delhi University. At age 19, she earned a scholarship to go to Harvard University in the United States. At Harvard, she studied how to make documentary films and graduated in 1979.

Career as a Filmmaker

Before becoming a filmmaker, Nair was interested in acting. While studying at Harvard, she performed in plays and even won an award for her acting.

Nair has said she loves directing movies because it allows her to work with many different people. She believes her strength is working with others to bring a story to life.

Documentary Films

Nair began her career by making documentaries, which are films about real-life events and people. Her first student film, Jama Masjid Street Journal, explored the streets of Old Delhi.

Her other documentaries include:

• So Far from India (1982): This film tells the story of an Indian man working in New York City while his wife waits for him back in India. It won awards at several film festivals.
• India Cabaret (1984): This film showed the difficult lives of female performers in Mumbai.
• The Laughing Club of India (2001): This documentary explored Laughter yoga, a type of yoga based on laughing. It showed how laughing clubs were helping people across India.

Feature Films

After making documentaries, Nair began directing feature films, which tell fictional stories.

Salaam Bombay! (1988)

Nair's first feature film was Salaam Bombay!. She co-wrote it with her friend, Sooni Taraporevala. To make the movie feel real, Nair cast actual street children to play the main characters. The film tells the story of children living on the streets of Mumbai.

Salaam Bombay! won 23 international awards, including major prizes at the Cannes Film Festival. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Mississippi Masala (1991)

Nair's next film was Mississippi Masala. It tells the story of a family of Indian heritage who were forced to leave Uganda and move to Mississippi in the United States. The movie stars Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury. It was praised by critics and won awards at the Venice Film Festival.

Monsoon Wedding (2001)

One of Nair's most successful films is Monsoon Wedding. The movie is about a large, lively Punjabi family getting ready for a wedding in Delhi. The film was a huge hit all over the world. It won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival, making Nair the first woman to ever receive that prize.

Later Films

Nair has directed many other movies, including:

• The Namesake (2006): Based on a popular novel, this film is about the son of Indian immigrants growing up in New York City.
• Amelia (2009): A movie about the life of the famous pilot Amelia Earhart, starring Hilary Swank.
• The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012): A thriller based on a best-selling novel.
• Queen of Katwe (2016): A Walt Disney Pictures movie based on the true story of Phiona Mutesi, a young chess champion from Uganda. It stars Lupita Nyong'o and David Oyelowo.

Other Projects

Nair is also an activist who wants to help others. In 1998, she used the money earned from Salaam Bombay! to start the Salaam Baalak Trust. This organization helps street children in India.

In 2005, she founded the Maisha Film Lab in Kampala, Uganda. It is a school that trains young filmmakers in East Africa. The school's motto is, "If we don't tell our stories, no one else will."

Personal Life

Mira Nair met her first husband, photographer Mitch Epstein, at Harvard. They later divorced.

In 1988, she met her second husband, Mahmood Mamdani, while she was in Uganda researching for her film Mississippi Masala. Mamdani is a professor at Columbia University. They have a son named Zohran Mamdani, who was born in 1991. In 2020, Zohran was elected to the New York State Assembly.

Nair has practiced yoga for many years. When she is making a movie, she often has the cast and crew do yoga with her to start the day.

Filmography

Feature films

Television

• My Own Country (1998)
• Hysterical Blindness (2002)
• A Suitable Boy (2020)
• National Treasure: Edge of History (2022)

Awards and Recognition

Nair at the Zanzibar International Film Festival in 2013.

Mira Nair has won many awards for her films from all over the world. In 2012, she was given the Padma Bhushan, which is India's third-highest award for a citizen.

Some of her major wins include:

• 1988: Caméra d'Or (Best First Film) at the Cannes Film Festival for Salaam Bombay!
• 1988: National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi for Salaam Bombay!
• 1991: Best Original Screenplay at the Venice Film Festival for Mississippi Masala.
• 2001: Golden Lion (Best Film) at the Venice Film Festival for Monsoon Wedding.
• 2002: Audience Award at the Canberra International Film Festival for Monsoon Wedding.
• 2012: Special Award at the International Film Festival of India for The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

See also

• Indians in the New York City metropolitan area