Our Bureau
Mumbai
The son of award-winning American-Indian filmmaker Mira Nair, Zohran Mamdani recently won in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. With his recent victory, an old statement from her mother resurfaced on the internet. The filmmaker was talking about how her son urged her to direct the Namesake instead of the fifth installment of the famed Harry Potter franchise, titled Order of the Phoenix.
Mira Nair was talking about a tough time in her life when she was feeling down and out after she lost her mother-in-law due to medical malpractice in New York. She recalled that she was reading the novel, ‘The Namesake’ by Jhumpa Lahiri which was based around the death of a parent. She loved the book and decided to make a movie on it.
The filmmaker recalled, “I turned down the offer as I was deep into directing Vanity Fair. I lost my mother-in-law who was like a mother due to medical malpractice in New York. I was deep in melancholy. But at that time, I read The Namesake, the beautiful novel by Jhumpa Lahiri. It was also about the death of a parent. I then decided to make a film on it. I then got an offer to direct Harry Potter.”
She revealed she had an offer from the Harry Potter franchise as well and she was in a serious muddle on what to choose. That’s when her son Zohran who was just 14 back then helped her out and said, “He told me there are many good directors who can make Harry Potter, but there is only one director who can make Namesake.”
Zohran after being chosen as the Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City, took to his official social media account and wrote, “In the words of Nelson Mandela; it always seems impossible until it’s done. My friends, it is done. And you are the ones who did it. I am honoured to be your Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City.”
