Before Zohran Mamdani took New York City’s mayoral race by storm and secured the Democratic ticket, his mother was artfully portraying Black and brown love on screen.
Mamdani’s mother, award-winning film director Mira Nair, is the creative force behind several top films, including one of Denzel Washington’s best films, 1991’s “Mississippi Masala.”
The indie flick, which starred Washington as a carpet cleaner named Demetrius alongside Sarita Choudhury as Mina, who relocates to Mississippi with her family from Uganda, was Nair’s second film after her Oscar-nominated film “Salaam Bombay!”.
The romance chronicles what happens after Mina’s family is ousted from Uganda and relocates to Mississippi. There, she eventually meets and falls in love with Demetrius. However, their love is warned against by their different communities and ultimately tested as those communities become embroiled in a feud.
“Mississippi Masala” is a tender love story with an over 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It also launched the career of Choudhury (who now stars in “And Just Like That”); Washington had just won his first Oscar for his role in 1989’s “Glory.”
Discussing the movie with Slate after it was finally made available to watch again through the Criterion Collection in 2022, Nair said she made the film while she was in a “stupor” of love.
“I had fallen in love for the first time, and I just knew what it was feeling like,” she said.
Of Washington and Choudhury’s undeniable chemistry in the movie, she said, “Their chemistry, it did reflect the slow-growing affection that allowed them to find each other. And the great courtesy that I felt in the South. The great courtesy of ‘may I kiss you.’ It’s none of that movie-style smashing into each other.”
Other films Nair has directed include 2004’s “Vanity Fair,” 2006’s “The Namesake,” and 2016’s “Queen of Katwe,” the latter two of which Mamdani had a hand in.
According to Nair it was her son who convinced her to make “The Namesake.” At the time she had been tapped by Warner Bros. to potentially direct the 5th “Harry Potter” film, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.” As she was debating which film to take on she asked Mamdani for his opinion.
“He said to me, ‘Mama, many good directors can make ‘Harry Potter,’ but only you can make ‘The Namesake,’” she said during an appearance at the 2018 Juniper Literature Festival.
If Mamdani’s political career does not fully pan out, he may have one waiting for him in the film industry. Starring Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo, and Lupita Nyong’o, “Queen of Katwe” also featured Mamdani behind and in front of the camera. He worked on the Disney film as third assistant director and also played the role of Bookie Student.
“Mississippi Masala” is currently available to stream on Max.
