Zohran Mamdani, the new mayor-elect of New York City, has taken the world by storm since his headline-making win on Nov. 4th. With all of this attention on Mamdani, the world naturally wants to know more and more about the city’s first-ever Muslim mayor, including details about his upbringing and specifically, his world-renowned mother, Mira Nair, who made a name for herself as one of the most successful independent filmmakers of the last two decades.
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Here’s what you should know about Mira Nair!
She’s an Oscar Nominated Director
Nair is a critically-acclaimed independent filmmaker who has made some pretty serious waves in the indie film scene throughout the years. Known for maintaining her own artistic vision in the often cutthroat film industry, Nair has carved out some serious space in the world of film.
Her works have earned critical success, with her debut film “Salaam Bombay!,” earning an Oscar nomination in 1989. The film, which follows a 10-year-old boy on the streets of Bombay (now Mumbai), earned rave reviews, including a four-star rating from esteemed film critic Roger Ebert at the time.
“Mississipi Masala“
Remember the Denzel Washington romance/comedy “Mississippi Masala”? That also came from Nair. The 1991 film followed Demetrius Williams (Washington) and Mina (Sarita Choudhury), two lovers in an interracial romance. While looking back on the film, she told Vulture magazine a few years ago that the role was written specifically with Denzel in mind.
“He’s a real filmmaker,” she told the outlet. “The reason he met me was ‘Salaam Bombay!,’ truly. And then he was, I would say, immediately interested, but he had to do another film, and we had to wait. We were prepared to, although it really affected us, and then he left that other film. I don’t know at which point. And that’s when he came back to us. So that’s how that happened.”
Queen of Katwe and Other Films
Nair’s films didn’t just stop at “Mississippi Masala.” The director continued to make successful films throughout the 90s and the 2000s, including “Monsoon Wedding,” “Vanity Fair” and more.
Her latest film, “Queen of Katwe,” featured a star-studded cast including Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo. In fact, Nyongo is a long-time friend of Naier’s, as Vanity Fair reported, the two have been in each other’s lives for decades.
Her Bond with Her Son
Zohran and his mom seem to have quite a close bond. Just last year, the mayor-elect took to Instagram with a post dedicated to her for her birthday.
“As a child, I would always ask my parents “Am I late?” Today, the answer is most definitely yes. But better later than never, especially because now I get to say that every day is Mother’s Day when it comes to celebrating my dearest and darling Mama,” he wrote in the caption next to a smiling picture of her. “My mother who taught me to love mischief. My mother who taught me no box is ever big enough to accept. My mother who taught me so much, I love you.”
In May, Mamdani took to X to shout her out again for Mother’s Day.
“My mother brought me into this world, helped me understand it, and taught me “if we don’t tell our own stories, no one else will.” I love you, my dear Mama,” he wrote. “Happy Mother’s Day to my Mama, and to mothers everywhere.”
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