Person · Director

Mira Nair

Born

October 15, 1957

From

Rourkela, Orissa, India

Also:
Producer
Actress

Credits on file

Decades active

In short · Directing since 1983, 5 decades active, 24 credits.

Known for

Ranked by community engagement + sustained interest across this person's credits in our database.

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Biography

Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian 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, *Salaam Bombay!* (1988), won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival and also earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Nair used the proceeds to establish an organisation 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.

Nair 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.

Nair is married to political scientist Mahmood Mamdani. Their son, Zohran Mamdani, is Mayor of New York City.

Filmography · 20 of 20

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