A Life In Pictures

The Oscar-nominated filmmaker MIRA NAIR, known for her formidable energy and voracious enthusiasm, tells ANUPAMA CHOPRA all about her new dream project and what it means to be a woman in cinema.

Mira Nair’s Twitter handle is @MiraPagliNair, and she is pagli in the best sense of the word. I meet the prodigious filmmaker at Suvarna Mahal at the iconic Rambagh Palace, Jaipur, where she marvels at the sumptuous Rajasthani thali and orders a Caesar salad to go with it. Which, of course, is her special skill—the ability to blend and balance the East and West.

ANUPAMA CHOPRA: You’ve made movies for 39 years. How much have your creative instincts changed over the years?

MIRA NAIR: At the core I am the same—I have the same appetite for life and I still believe that life is my teacher. I think the language or the vocabulary of how to tell that story has changed over the years.

AC: What’s the most important quality for a director to have?

MN: To be fully assured of the craft and to preserve your instinct so it keeps you distinctive. But the director’s main task is to make everyone take you much further—from the carpenter to the lead actor. Talent cannot be demanded—I subscribe to an atmosphere of love.

AC: Yes, I remember being on your set and you asking for one last take, which is your signature catch phrase—“One for love.”