Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair’s son Zohran Mamdani may very well be on his way to become the next mayor of New York City. He declared victory in NYC’s Democratic mayoral primary Tuesday night after Andrew Cuomo conceded the race in a stunning upset, as the young, progressive upstart built a substantial lead over the more experienced but scandal-scarred former governor.
Though the race’s ultimate outcome will still be decided by a ranked choice count, Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist who was virtually unknown outside of political circles a year ago, was in a commanding position. Mamdani would be the city’s first Muslim and Indian-American mayor, if elected.
Zohran’s contribution to The Namesake
Zohran may not have followed in his mother’s footsteps by becoming a filmmaker. But he’s always had an eye for talent and an ear for a good story. Back when Mira was planning to adapt Jhumpa Lahiri’s book The Namesake into a film, she faced a dilemma. She was also offered to helm the fourth instalment of the popular Harry Potter film franchise, Harry Potter and the G0blet Of Fire.
Since Zohran was a huge Potterhead and would love reading the books by JK Rowling, Mira was conflicted whether she should trade the film adaptation she wanted to do for the one her son would’ve liked her to. So she asked her teenage son for an advise. “Mama, any good director can make Harry Potter but only you can make The Namesake,” he said.
Irrfan Khan and Tabu in The Namesake.
So Mira went on to direct The Namesake, starring the late Irrfan Khan and Tabu, which is one of her most critically acclaimed works yet. Not just that, Zohran even pushed Mira to cast Kal Penn as Gogoi, the son of the characters played by Irrfan and Tabu. “A fan of Penn’s 2004 stoner flick Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Zohran would ask his mother every evening to audition the actor for the role.
Nair didn’t take him seriously until she got a letter from Penn himself. “I am an actor because of your Mississippi Masala. I was 8 years old when I saw it in a New Jersey mall, and I realized people on screen could look like me,” stated the letter. Mira’s 1991 romance starred Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury, a British actor of Indian origin.
Also Read — ‘Roti, kapda aur makaan’: How Bollywood and Hindi are powering Mira Nair’s son Zohran Mamdani’s run for NYC mayor
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Zohran’s turn to music
Even though he didn’t become a filmmaker like mother Mira Nair, Zohran always had a penchant for music. A hip-hop nerd, Zohran collaborated with Ugandan rapper HAB on the 2016 EP Sidda Mukyaalo, which translates to “Not going back to village” in Luganda. He was credited as his then-moniker ‘Young Cardamom.’
In 2019, he released another rap single, ‘Nani,’ which features veteran actor and cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey (then in her late 80s) rapping across NYC and playing Zohran’s titular maternal grandmother. Zohran was credited on that single under another moniker, ‘Mr. Cardamom.’
Zohran’s filmy campaign
Zohran has liberally borrowed from Hindi cinema to support his political campaign. For instance, he has been championing “roti, kapda, aur makaan,” taken from late Manoj Kumar’s 1974 hit to underline basic affordability, a key theme in his campaign.
In a campaign video he put together, he’s also referred to the iconic ‘Mere pas maa hai’ scene from Yash Chopra’s 1975 cult classic Deewaar, recreated Shah Rukh Khan’s signature arms-spread-wise pose, and also offered his own spin to the popular song Om Shanti Om from Subhash Ghai’s 1980 cult reincarnation saga Karz.
