India and the World: East, West, and Coming Full Circle
Academy Award–nominated director Mira Nair is best known for her groundbreaking films that cross borders of all kinds: Salaam Bombay!, winner of the Caméra d’Or at Cannes in 1988; the pioneering Asian African romance Mississippi Masala (1991); Golden Globe and Emmy–winning Hysterical Blindness (2001); and the international hit Monsoon Wedding (2001), which made her the first woman to win the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival..
Also known for her literary craftsmanship and adaptations of fiction, Nair has filmed The Namesake (2006), The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012), Vanity Fair (2004), A Suitable Boy (2020), and Queen of Katwe (2016). Her most recent endeavor was directing Monsoon Wedding: the Musical, which opened in New York City in May 2023 and is bound for Broadway. Nair’s next film will be AMRI, an experimental portrait of artist Amrita Sher-Gil.
An activist by nature, Nair founded Salaam Baalak Trust for Indian street children in 1988 and the Maisha Film Lab, a free school to train filmmakers in Africa, in 2004. In 2012, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honor.
About Salaam Bombay!
Winner of the prestigious Caméra d’Or at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival, Mira Nair’s first feature film Salaam Bombay! was filmed entirely on location in and around the streets of Mumbai. All the actors, including the central character, were children and young people who lived the reality they portrayed as struggling street kids. Among the stories of so many, the life of the character nicknamed Chaipau becomes central as he tries to make a small living, build friendships, and form meaningful connections among the thieves, sex workers, and drug pushers around him. (Mira Nair, 1988, Hindi with subtitles, DCP, 113 minutes)
The Rajiv Vaidya Memorial Lecture Series affords an opportunity for prominent filmmakers to discuss their work and for notable scholars to present perspectives on the history of film as an art form. Dr. Shailendra Vaidya of Chester County, Pennsylvania, and family and friends have generously endowed this series in honor of Rajiv Vaidya, a film devotee and writer who held a degree in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University.
Part of the ongoing Art Films and Special Screenings series.