Amelia 2009 PG, 111 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Mira Nair Cast: Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston, Joe Anderson, Cherry Jones, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Abrams, Dylan Roberts, William Cuddy, Tom Fairfoot, Ryann Shane, Scott Yaphe, Richard Donat, Elizabeth Shepherd
Told in flashbacks from her last flight when she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean, this film serves as a biography on famous aviator Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank) who, in 1937, became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She had gained fame earlier when she flew with pilot Bill Lutz (Joe Anderson) and Slim Gordon (Aaron Abrams) on a 20-hour flight from Newfoundland to Wales. The film shows how Amelia enjoys her celebrity status and how her marriage to George Putnam (Richard Gere) suffers because of her frequent flights and because of her love affair with Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor).
|  | |
Hysterical Blindness 2002 TV, 95 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Mira Nair Cast: Uma Thurman, Gena Rowlands, Juliette Lewis, Justin Chambers, Ben Gazzara, Anthony DeSando, Jolie Peters, Callie Thorne, Jeff Aaron, Johann Carlo
Debby (Uma Thurman) and Beth (Juliette Lewis) are working-class friends nearing 30 in a New Jersey neighborhood. They look for love at their favorite bar, and Debby thinks she has found Mr. Right, construction worker Rick (Justin Chambers), though she is sure to be heartbroken (again). Beth must also deal with a precocious daughter. Meanwhile, Debby's mother, Virginia (Gena Rowlands) has a boyfriend, Nick (Ben Gazzara). But real love and happiness are hard to come by for all three.
|  | |
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love 1996 R, 115 min. Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Mira Nair Cast: Indira Varma, Sarita Choudhury, Ramon Tikaram, Naveen Andrews, Rekha, Pearl Padamsee, Ranjit Chowdhry, Khalid Tyabji, Arundhati Rao, Surabhi Bhansali, Garima Dhup, Kusum Haidar, Harish Patel, Avijit Dutt, Achala Sachdev
Set in 16th-century India, this film's plot is about a rivalry in the royal court between serving girl Maya (Indira Varma) and Princess Tara (Sarita Choudhury). Maya uses erotic skills learned through Kama Sutra–the Indian book of exotic love–to compete with the Princess.
|  | |
Mississippi Masala 1991 R, 117 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Mira Nair Cast: Denzel Washington, Roshan Seth, Sarita Choudhury, Charles S. Dutton, Joe Seneca, Sharmila Tagore, Ranjit Chowdhry, Mohan Gokhale, Mohan Agashe, Tico Wells
This is an erotic inter-racial story about Demetrius (Denzel Washington), a Southern businessman, who falls in love with Mina (Sarita Choudhury) whose family has been expelled from Uganda.
|  | |
Monsoon Wedding 2001 R, 115 min. Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance
Director: Mira Nair Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shetty, Vijay Raaz, Tillotama Shome, Vasundhara Das, Parvin Dabas, Sameer Arya, Kamini Khanna, Rajat Kapoor, Neha Dubey, Kemaya Kidwai, Ishaan Nair, Randeep Hooda, Roshan Seth
Wealthy Lalit Verma (Naseeruddin Shah) plans a lavish wedding for the arranged marriage of his daughter Aditi Verma (Vasundhara Das) to Houston, Texas, engineer Hemant Rai (Parvin Dabas). Guests from around the world gather in New Delhi, India, for the big event. As the wedding day nears, Aditi grows nervous and thinks about returning to her former lover, Vikram (Sameer Arya). Meanwhile, the wedding planner, P.K. Dubey (Vijay Raaz), falls in love with the maid, Alice (Tillotama Shome). Drama and comedy abound in this fun film.
|  | |
The Namesake 2007 PG-13, 122 min. Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Mira Nair Cast: Kal Penn, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Jacinda Barrett, Zuleikha Robinson, Brooke Smith, Sahira Nair, Glenne Headly, Mura Guha Thakurta, Sabyasachi Chakravarthy, Tamal Sengupta, Dhruv Mookerji, Michael Countryman, Heather MacRae, Stuart Rudin
Ashima (Tabu) leaves her home in Calcutta and arrives in New York for her arranged marriage to Ashoke (Irrfan Khan). The couple misses the culture of India but live the good life in Queens. As time passes, they have a son and a daughter, but as their son (Kal Penn) grows up he has problems dealing with the two cultures. After graduating from Yale, he even changes his name from Gogol to Nick and becomes involved with a WASP princess (Jacinda Barrett). But, a family tragedy convinces Nick to reconsider his decisions, and he sets off in a different direction with a new appreciation for his past.
|  | |
Salaam Bombay! 1988 N/R, 113 min. Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Mira Nair Cast: Shafiq Syed, Sarfuddin Qureshi, Raju Barnad, Raghuvir Yadav, Anita Kanwar, Nana Patekar, Hansa Vithal, Mohanraj Babu, Chanda Sharma, Chandrashekhar Naidu, Amrit Patel, Murari Sharma, Ram Moorti, Irshad Hashmi, Anjaan
This is Mira Nair's first feature film, and actual street children of Bombay were used in its telling. The film was shot entirely on location and tells the story of life on the streets. Homeless 10-year-old Krishna (Shafiq Syed), after being kicked out of his family, joins a circus. Now, abandoned by the circus, Krishna arrives in Bombay where he delivers tea, hoping to earn enough money to return home and convince his mother to accept him. Krishna is befriended by drug dealer Chillum (Raghuvir Yadav) and becomes involved in the world of prostitution, thieves, and other homeless children as his dreams of returning home dwindle. It is a powerful, if often sad, masterpiece. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Film.
|  | |
Vanity Fair 2004 PG-13, 140 min. Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Mira Nair Cast: Reese Witherspoon, James Purefoy, Romola Garai, Rhys Ifans, Gabriel Byrne, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Eileen Atkins, Jim Broadbent, Bob Hoskins, Tony Maudsley, John Franklyn-Robbins, Deborah Findlay, Angelica Mandy, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Ruth Sheen
A London lass, Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon), overcomes her youth as a poor orphan, earns an education, and begins her climb up Britain's 19th-century social ladder when she gains a job as governess for the daughters of Sir Pitt Crawley (Bob Hoskins). Becky marries Crawley's son Rawdon (James Purefoy), but problems rise to the fore. Now, Becky uses her wiles on the powerful Steyne (Gabriel Byrne) to gain yet another step up the social ladder.
|  | |
| 1. Amelia (2009)
2. Hysterical Blindness (2002)
3. Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996)
4. Mississippi Masala (1991)
5. Monsoon Wedding (2001)
6. The Namesake (2007)
7. The Perez Family (1995)
8. Salaam Bombay! (1988)
9. Vanity Fair (2004)
In The News
|