Mira Nair is an Indian filmmaker of international repute. She started her carrier as an actor and then turned to directing documentaries. Her early documentaries included ‘So Far From India’ and ‘India Cabaret’. Mira Nair made a mark from her very first feature film, Salaam Bombay, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Category in 1988. Salaam Bombay won the Camera D’Or (for best first feature) and the Prix du Publique (for most popular entry) at the Cannes Film Festival and 25 other international awards.
Her next film, The Mississippi Masala won three awards at the Venice film festival. Mira Nair’s subsequent films include the Perez Family, My own country, Kamasutra and The Monsoon Wedding. Winner of the Golden Lion at the 2001 Venice Film Festival, Monsoon Wedding also won a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and received tremendous critical and commercial success.
Mira Nair was born in 1958, Bhubaneshwar, India. Her parents hail from the Punjab. Mira had her early education at a boarding school at Shimla. It was here that Mira developed passion for dramatics and theatre. Mira read the ‘Vanity Fair’ when she was just 16 and later adapted it into a film.
Mira Nair studied in the Delhi University and then went to the United States to study sociology and later theatre at the Harvard University. Mira is married to Hehmood Mamdani; a Ugandan national.
Mira’s greatest recognition came with her first feature film, Salaam Bombay! She was awarded the Best New Director at the Cannes Film Festival and also got a nomination for best foreign film at the Academy Awards. In the year 2002 she directed a section of the French-produced anthology film, featuring short films from 11 international filmmakers.
Along with teaching at Columbia University, Nair directed the film Vanity Fair, based on the novel by W.M. Thackeray. Mira Nair was also offered the job of directing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
