A biography for Mira Nairhasn’t been written yet.
“Creative freedom is an imperative for me, but it doesn't really exist in a Hollywood game.”
“We never see the fancy schools with the blazers and ties in films about Africa! But, in fact, we too have class and elitism.”
“I'm inspired by people that are marginal. I'm excited by their resilience.”
“There's nothing universal about Indian families except that the family itself is deeply important across the country. It's sort of the fabric and anchor of our country.”
“My close friends call me the bulldozer who never says no. I have never not made a film.”
“I think optimism springs from nature. I'm a gardener. Nature has taught me about rhythm, the essence of every art. With so much that is terrible, nature gives me pleasure.”
“In Uganda, I am surrounded, unfortunately, by evangelicals; I can't bear it. Every night I hear the chants of Baptists urging people to be born again.”
“I know what it's like to be in one place and dream of another. I also know what it's like to feel that nostalgia is a fairly useless thing because it is stasis.”
“For seven years, I made films in the cinema verite tradition - photographing what was happening without manipulating it. Then I realised I wanted to make things happen for myself, through feature films.”
“We have to realize only in communication, in real knowledge, in real reaching out, can there be an understanding that there's humanity everywhere, and that's what I'm trying to do.”
“Truth is much stranger than fiction and, often, much more powerful.”
“No one goes to Pakistan to make movies. You stick out.”
“I think, in terms of activism associated with my films, be it 'Salaam Baalak Trust' or 'Maisha,' taking the idea of cinema as a way to change people, I feel heartened. I am glad that we have impacted thousands of lives.”
“The film-school mantra is that if you don't tell your own stories, nobody will.”
“They say now in America that final cut doesn't mean anything. As Harvey Weinstein said to some film-maker, 'You can have final cut. I'll open your film in Arkansas.'”
“I always like to reveal the fact that the emperor has no clothes. And children are best at that. They teach us how to see the world in that sense. They are without artifice; they see it for what it is. I am drawn to that ruthless honesty.”
“Life is short, so I'm knowing exactly where I'm putting my time. I don't want to do things that I don't have to do.”
“I came from the school of cinema verite documentaries, which was: Do not manipulate reality as it was happening but create a narrative in the editing room.”
“Humility is not a trait I often associate with America.”
“I am Indian, and my home is Kampala. My world is already diverse. But films are financed by those who want to see themselves on screen, and it is a white male world. Still, it does feel like America is waking up. Let's hope it's the start of an avalanche.”