Week 10 - Mira Nair's Films

One of the most successful Indian directors of today’s generation, Mira Nair started off making documentaries on the streets of Delhi before turning to feature films such as Salaam Bombay, Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake.

                                   

          Her first film Salaam Bombay - The influence of Mira Nair's sociology background is easy to perceive in this film. Her first narrative film details the lives of the unfortunate children who live in the streets of Bombay. The main character Krishna/Chaipau spends his time as a runner for a tea shop in a neighborhood replete with prostitution and the drug trade. It is in the teeming environment of the streets that Krishna must save 500 rupees before he returns to his village. At the same time several episodes serve to demonstrate the hopelessness of everyone's condition. Even though the film is interspersed with moments of occasional happiness and camaraderie, the tone of the film is predominately bittersweet and poignant. The strengths of the film lie in its extraordinary realism. 

          Following up after Salaam Bombay - Mira Nair directs a charming family drama about a very chaotic Indian wedding. Where a wealthy father Lalit who is trying to see that his daughter Aditi's wedding goes off without a hitch. Though familiar with Western ways, he has little patience with them and is dead set on seeing the nuptials done properly and traditionally. Disillusioned with her long time relationship with Vikram -- a man who is almost twice her age -- Aditi  suddenly agrees to submit to an arranged marriage with Hemant, an engineer from Houston. Yet as the ceremony nears, she gets cold feet and returns to see her former lover -- even though it could spell disaster for everyone involved. Meanwhile, Aditi's cousins Ayesha and Rai who have shocking revelation to make. This film is comic at the same time very intense, as the drama unfolds. But what’s particularly shown with a great amount of detail is hindu wedding rituals and their importance. 

          A couple coming to terms with living in a new culture discover their troubles are compounded by their son is the main theme in this drama. Ashoke  and Ashima are a young couple who are brought together in an arranged marriage and soon leave Calcutta to seek their fortune in America. As the couple becomes accustomed to one another, they learn to deal with the coolness and superficiality of life in New York, even as they revel in the opportunities the city offers them. Before long, Ashima gives birth to a baby boy. By the time the child is old he displays little interest in his Indian heritage. Several years on, he has become a thoroughly Americanized teenager, openly rebelling against his parents, smoking marijuana in his room, and dating Maxine, a preppy blonde from a wealthy family. Ashoke and Ashima are uncertain about how to deal with their son's attempts to cut himself off from their culture, but Nick begins expressing some uncertainty himself when he meets Moushumi, a beautiful girl who also comes from a family of Indian expatriates. The film travels across the globe and so do the characters behaviors and beliefs. This film mainly focuses on soul searching and yet again as of the other two films, indian culture is highly given importance.
          Therefore, Mira Nair has three common themes, that follows in almost all her films - Romance, Indian Culture and a social issue.