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| www.mumbaimirror.com Hooked by her humility November 01, 2009 By Aseem Chhabra |
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Talking about her latest, Amelia, Mira Nair discusses what drew her to aviation pioneer Amelia Everhart’s character, and how Hilary Swank enacted her goofy nuances perfectly
“I have never worked harder in my life,” Nair said. Until now, Nair has maintained that her first feature, Salaam Bombay, was her most challenging project. “This was tough like Salaam Bombay, though different, because it went from an independent film to a studio film. I worked about 18-hour days for 18 months now, and I have never done that, because I have always had that sacrosanct period of three months in Kampala.” Nair’s husband Mahmood Mamdani, a Columbia University professor, is an Ugandan Indian and the family always spends the summers in their second home in Kampala. “However, with this, I could not do any of that, because you had to do full justice to the story, while also doing a full-on commercial film. That is why, you have not seen me for so long.” Amelia opened in theatres on October 23. Though the reviews were not positive, for Nair, how the audience would accept the film was what mattered. She seemed proud of her work – especially getting the right notes of performances from her two leads. “I was attracted to the project, because of Amelia’s humility that I saw in the newsreels,” she said. “We all know that humility is not a great American trait, and we are schooled in a place that really pleasures it – that was the first hook for me. Hilary got Amelia’s goofy humility damn well. We achieved that look of her over six weeks. It’s amazing how Hilary takes all the outwardly things and embodies it within.” About Gere, Nair said, “Richard is a terrific human being. He has this charisma all his life. His most beautiful trait is his maturity and meditative quality that he has deep within him as a Buddhist. In this film, George Putnam, Gere’s character, goes from an impresario and hustler, who packages Amelia to falling in love with her. Richard brought to the film that maturity and acceptance.” One day later, Nair was at the Museum of Modern Art for a benefit screening of Amelia. It was a fundraiser for Maisha, Nair’s film school in Kampala and for the Indo American Arts Council – a New York City-based arts organisation that has had a long relationship with Nair and her films. Next month, IAAC will host a special 20th anniversary screening of Nair’s Salaam Bombay at its ninth annual film festival. “I grew up in Bhubaneswar thinking Amelia was just this androgynous girl,” Nair said at the MoMA gathering, still fighting her cold. The event gave her the opportunity to talk about her dream for Maisha. She hopes to build a year-round film school for scriptwriting and film direction students from East Africa and South Asia. In the audience were her supporters and friends, including authors Salman Rushdie and Jhumpa Lahiri. Also present at the MoMA screening was Gere, who painted Nair as a tough director. “Mira is a bulldog,” Gere said, and added, “In reality, we both are bulldogs. We are strong people. Though we are butt heads, we usually find a way to agree.” Gere then complimented Nair’s ability to manage a big Hollywood film, while also retaining her artistic integrity. “Mira Nair has an extraordinary sense of style and internal beauty,” Gere said. “This was an extremely difficult project. She kept her eye on the prize, although the film could have gotten derailed.” |
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| http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/54/2009110120091101015650312c37e4edd/Hooked-by-her-humility-.html | ||
