Mira Nair
Mira Nair
Mira Nairis an Indian American filmmaker based in New York. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural spheres. Among her best known films are Mississippi Masala, The Namesake, the Golden Lion-winning Monsoon Wedding and Salaam Bombay!, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film...
NationalityIndian
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth15 October 1957
CountryIndia
My films, no one else will do.
I always like to reveal the fact that the emperor has no clothes. And children are best at that. They teach us how to see the world in that sense. They are without artifice; they see it for what it is. I am drawn to that ruthless honesty.
Every frame and every scene has to have an intention.
Humility is not a trait I often associate with America.
Truth is more peculiar than fiction. Life is really a startling place.
It is because my roots are so strong that I can fly.
It took me three years to learn to dress in the American way, especially in winter. That was just like me. I barely wear socks even now.
I've never sought to be on an A-list. I've done my own thing and my own thing has thankfully now brought me an audience.
We all know the power of film; we all know there's almost nothing more powerful than to see people on film that look and talk like you, like we do.
I look for the humanity in people, however big the politics or oppressive the situation may be, whether it's subsumed within a human being or between two human beings. I want to help us hold a mirror to ourselves.
Christmas lights may be the loneliest thing for me, especially if you mix them up with reindeers and sleighs. I feel alone. I feel isolated. I feel I do not belong.
I think films have to reach people and really grab them. That's what I hope to do when I make a film - to get under your skin and really make you think about something, and have a transporting time that takes you somewhere.
Truth is much stranger than fiction and, often, much more powerful.
What's nice about what we have is when you enter the set, the world of film, it becomes this real cocoon, very different from all the publicity. That's the fun part.