Nair, Mira (1957–)

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Nair, Mira (1957–)

Indian film director, screenwriter and producer. Pronunciation: Nair rhymes with fire. Born Oct 15, 1957, in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India; dau. of a government administrator; attended Delhi University and Harvard University; m. Mahmood Mamdani (Ugandan political scientist); children: Zohran.

Began career as an actress; turned to making documentaries, including India Cabaret, a study of a group of Bombay strippers which won the American Film Festival Award for Best Documentary (1985); produced and directed 1st feature film, Salaam Bombay! (1988), which won awards at Cannes and an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Film; produced and directed 1st English-language film, Mississippi Masala (1991), which won 3 awards at Venice Film Festival; produced and directed Monsoon Wedding which won the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival (2001); other films include Kama Sutra (1996), (for tv) Hysterical Blindness (2002) and Vanity Fair (2004).