NRI filmmaker
Mira Nair’s film "The Namesake" ignored in the
shortlist list of Oscar
Oscars disappoint!
Mumbai, Jan 29, 2008
TNN
Mira Nair’s much-acclaimed film The Namesake has been completely
ignored in the shortlist list of Oscar nominations and the NRI
filmmaker is not surprised.
"I’m only mildly disappointed," said Mira. "Hollywood
acquires amnesia when it comes to the talent of colour. Of course,
all this may change if Barack Obama comes to power."
With the agony comes the ecstacy. On the very day that Shekhar
Kapoor’s Australian friend, the actor Heath Ledger passed
way, came the announcement that his leading lady Cate Blanchett
(coincidentally, also Australian) from Elizabeth The Golden Age
had been nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress.
"I’m not surprised by Cate’s nomination,"
said Shekhar. "Her performance was by far the best of the
year. It was a much more difficult and complex part than the first
one." In 1999, nobody wanted to cast Cate, but Shekhar fought
to get her in Elizabeth. She had been nominated for the Oscar
then, too. And
if she wins this time, Cate would be the first international actress
to win an Oscar for a film directed by an Indian.
Shekhar, also, is disappointed over the Oscar snub for The Namsake.
"I thought it was a great film and many of my friends in
Hollywood were very moved by the film and the performances,"
he added.
Abhishek Bachchan
and Konkona Sensharma to star in Mira Nair's film
Mumbai, Oct 30, 2004
NRI Press
Konkona Sensharma has replaced Rani Mukerji in
Mira Nair’s next venture. Nair’s new film is a celluloid
adaptation of Pulitzer-winning writer Jhumpa Lahiri's novel The
Namesake.
Konkona Sensharma
First Rani Mukherjee opted out, apparently because
the role offered to her wasn't substantial enough, and was replaced
by Konkona Sensharma.
But the crucial casting of the main protagonist
from Lahiri's novel remained a mystery.
There were rumours that Rahul Bose had been approached.
But Bose clarified that he had never been approached, let alone
offered, the pivotal role.
That crucial bit of casting is now in place. Abhishek
Bachchan has been pencilled in to play the Bengali NRI protagonist
Gogol Ganguly in the adaptation.
Abhishek Bachchan
Nair met Abhishek for the first time in Kolkata
through mutual friend Rituparno Ghosh. They then met again in
Mumbai.
And Nair has found Bachchan Jr. to be the perfect
choice, except for one problem. Abhishek's dates have to be adjusted.
Nair's shooting spell for "The Namesake"
clashes with another major project that Abhishek has just signed.
Mira Nair signed Rani Mukherjee
to play the
central character of Ashima in
"The Namesake"
Mumbai, Sep 13, 2004
Subhash K Jha
IANS
Mira Nair is reluctant to talk about the proposal to direct the
fifth movie in the Harry Potter series, but she's delighted to
discuss her next project - an adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri's novel
The Namesake.
For those who wondered where Rani Mukherjee could go after Sanjay
Leela Bhansali's Black (which opens in December), here's the answer
in two words - Mira Nair.
Speaking from New York, where she has returned from the Venice
premiere of Vanity Fair, Nair confirmed her collaboration with
Rani.
Mira Nair is reluctant to talk about Harry Potter
Rani Mukherjee
"Yes, I've signed Rani Mukherjee to play the central
character of Ashima in The Namesake. I've been wooing her over
the phone ever since I saw her in Mani Ratnam's Yuva."
This isn't the first time that duchess of diaspora Nair will direct
an Indian cast.
She worked with Nana Patekar and Aneeta Kanwar in her first film
Salaam Bombay, Sharmila Tagore and Roshan Seth in Mississippi
Masala and Naseeruddin Shah and a host of Indian actors in Monsoon
Wedding.
As for the much-hyped reports about her being asked to direct
the fifth segment of the Harry Potter series, Nair is reluctant
to discuss it.
Though she doesn't deny the fact that she has been approached,
Nair said: "Right now it's too early to talk about it. I
don't know how it got out on the websites. I have to sit with
them and work out the dates"
"Until then I am forbidden from talking about it. Right
now I'm fully into The Namesake and looking forward to meeting
Rani."
Though she's extremely tight-lipped about her collaboration with
Nair, Rani, who goes into this project after her world tour with
Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta, is supposed to play a Bengali
girl who ages from her teens to the mid-40s.
The Namesake is about the Bengali experience in the US and is
Nair's second heroine-oriented subject in a row. After her much
talked-about collaboration with Reese Witherspoon, it would be
interesting to see what Nair does with Rani, who's currently riding
an unprecedented career high with hits like Saathiya, Chalte Chalte
and Hum Tum. So many hit films in her kitty places her ahead of
the competition.
With Yash Chopra and Sanjay Bhansali's epics lined up for release,
Rani's progression towards the West seems natural and inevitable.
After Vanity Fair, Nair was supposed to go into a completely different
project - an adaptation of American playwright Tony Kushner's
Homebody/Kabul. Nair changed her mind because she wanted to do
something Indian after Vanity Fair.
Mira Nair will travel to Kolkata shortly to finalise the rest
of the cast, though the male protagonist could be played by an
Indian actor from the US.
