Papers of Mira Nair, 1929-2020 (inclusive), 1983-2020 (bulk)

The papers of Mira Nair document the progression of her career as an international filmmaker, including in regard to the inspiration, planning and development of her films; the filming process; publicity and promotion of the films; and the reactions of audience members and critics. The collection contains pre-production correspondence and planning documents; files on research and inspiration for films; location lists; costume sketches; notes regarding makeup and hairstyles; set design materials; casting research and audition tapes; film scripts (including edited drafts, and including the script of Nair's first, film Jama Masjid Street Journal); director's notes; set photographs and film stills; posters and other publicity (including t-shirts publicizing the films); audience screening notes; reviews, interviews, and articles about Nair's films; awards; correspondence including fan mail; and diaries and notebooks, many of which are related to the making of her films. Relatively little material about her personal life is included. Much of the collection was originally housed in large three-ring binders; the archivist rehoused this material in acid-free folders. Most of Nair's folder or binder titles have been retained; folder titles created by the archivist appear in square brackets. The collection also includes electronic files received on eleven CDs, two DVDs and a compact flash card. Disks were imaged using FTK Imager and selected data was converted to PDF/A for preservation and delivery.

Series I, BIOGRAPHICAL AND PERSONAL, 1981-2018 (#1.1-7.8, 68FB.1, 69F+B.1-69F+B.2), includes articles about Nair and her career, interviews with her as well as an interview with her brother Viki Nair by her friend and collaborator Sooni Taraporevala, awards and certificates, diaries and appointment books, and notebooks containing to-do lists and thoughts on various projects. Of note are the 1984 diary, in which Nair reflects on the types of films she wishes to make and the type of audience she hopes to attract, the 2004 notebook in which she considers directing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and the Berlin International Film Festival jury deliberation notes. For notebooks and diaries about specific films, see Series II.

Series II, PROFESSIONAL, 1929-2020 (#8.1-67.13, 68FB.2-76FB.1v, 69F+B.3-69F+B.8, 70CB.1m-77CB.1m, OD.1-OD.4, SD.1-SD.5, E.1-E.5), documents Nair's work with the Salaam Baalak Trust and the Maisha Film Lab, the development and evolution of her filmmaking and television career, and the Monsoon Wedding Musical project. It is arranged in the five subseries described below.

Subseries A, Salaam Baalak Trust and Maisha Film Lab, 1988-2014 (#8.1-8.8, E.1-E.2), includes reports and publicity for Salaam Baalak Trust, which Nair established in 1988 with proceeds from the film Salaam Bombay!, with the aim of providing educational assistance and other support to the children who appeared in the film. The reports provide details about the children and their reactions to the help offered by the Trust. Also included are handbooks and promotional material for the Maisha Film Lab, the film mentorship program Nair established in 2005 in Uganda. The subseries also includes electronic files documenting a screening of Amelia at the Museum of Modern Art in 2009, held as a fundraiser for the Film Lab, and images of a tree-planting and other activities at the Film Lab. These files, represented in this finding aid by #E.1-E.2, include images of Nair, Richard Gere, and other individuals associated with the Film Lab and with Amelia.

Subseries B, Documentaries, 1979-2001 (#8.9-12.5, 68FB.2-68FB.3, E.3), includes shooting notes; budgets, contracts, and correspondence; scripts (sometimes called transcripts); trims (short strips of film); film stills and other images; press kits and other promotional material; reviews, and interviews with Nair related to the documentaries Jama Masjid Street Journal (Nair's first film), So Far from India, India Cabaret, Children of a Desired Sex, and The Laughing Club of India. Of particular note are the reports on possible participants in So Far from India and the interviews with the selected subjects. The subseries also includes an electronic image of the cast and crew of So Far from India: this is represented in the finding aid by #E.3. The subseries is arranged chronologically by project and then alphabetically. Some material is in French, Japanese, and Hindi. For additional photographs of Nair alone or with others, see Series III.

Subseries C, Short films and anthologies, 1993-2014 (#12.6-13.12, OD.1, E.4), includes films stills, press clippings (including interviews with Nair), promotional materials, scripts, notes, and production documents for the films The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat, 9'11"01 September 11, Migration, How Can It Be?, New York I Love You, A Fork a Spoon and a Knight, and God Room. The subseries also includes electronic images of Nair on the set of How Can It Be?: these are represented by #E.4. Materials of interest include Nair's notes on the editing of The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat and articles, etc., regarding the inspiration for Nair's segment of September 11. The segment is based on the story of Mohammad Salman Hamdani, a Pakistani American police department cadet and emergency medical technician, who died in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, where he had gone to try to help. Following the attack, he was investigated for possible involvement with the terrorists, but this suspicion was proven false and he was ultimately declared a hero by the United States Congress and others. The subseries is arranged chronologically by project and then alphabetically. Some clippings are in French. For additional photographs of Nair alone or with others, see Series III.

Subseries D, Feature and television films and theater, 1929-2020 (#13.13-65.3, 68FB.4-76FB.1v, 69F+B.3-69F+B.8, 70CB.1m-77CB.1m, OD.2-OD.4, SD.1-SD.5), documents the Nair's feature and television films, the musical based on Monsoon Wedding, and the television series A Suitable Boy. The subseries covers the development of many of the films from early inspiration to finished product and includes casting documents and letters from actors interested in roles; costume design notes; production documents including crew lists, continuity logs, and scene breakdowns; budgets; film treatments; multiple versions of scripts for the various projects (many of them edited); diaries and notebooks Nair kept while making some of the films; correspondence with producers; film and location stills; fan mail; movie posters; and memorabilia. The subseries also includes reviews, interviews with Nair, and other articles from a wide array of countries, including France, Australia, Canada, Italy, Germany, Uganda, Spain, Great Britain, and Mexico; languages include French, Italian, Hindi, German, Dutch, Spanish, and Norwegian. For additional photographs of Nair alone or with others, see Series III.

Materials of note include the Salaam Bombay! scripts in Hindi (with the early title Chull Bumbai Chull); an album and related material for an acting workshop for the film's child actors; storyboards; and "production paperwork" including descriptions of a client's experiences in an Indian brothel. Also of note are the Mississippi Masala "recruited audience screening" report, revised scripts and comments on the screenplay, and a memo regarding cast and crew having possessions "go missing" and facing "intimidation tactics;" The Perez Family costume designer's sketches for Anjelica Huston, with the designer's notes on each costume; the early Kama Sutra scripts with the title Tara and Maya (which was used during filming in India to prevent interference from censors), suggested changes to the film from film industry executives; the extensive clippings and reviews for Monsoon Wedding and notes on the script by Nair; and an Hysterical Blindness memo dated September 14, 2001, referring to "the recent tragedy," i.e. the September 11 terrorist attack.

Other materials of note include Vanity Fair production documents including images of Reese Witherspoon in a variety of costumes; books of images compiled by Nair while working on Vanity Fair and The Namesake; a scrapbook made for Nair by Kal Penn, who played the role of Gogol in The Namesake; The Namesake production design material including paint and wallpaper samples; interviews with author Jhumpa Lahiri; a Namesake clapperboard, and shoes worn by Irrfan Kahn, who played Ashoke Ganguli in the film; notes on the authenticity of the Amelia script and the depiction of Amelia Earhart's husband George Putnam, and a notebook titled "truths about Amelia" in which Nair reflects on her reasons for making the film, including her disappointment at failure to make the film Shantaram and her desire to keep working. Also of note are audience screening cards for The Queen of Katwe; a partial copy of the film's script with notes by Nair; and lyrics for the Monsoon Wedding musical. The subseries also includes images that served as inspiration for Vanity Fair, The Namesake, Amelia, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and A Suitable Boy. The subseries is arranged chronologically by project and then alphabetically.

Subseries E, Uncompleted projects, 1990-2016 (#65.4-67.13, E.5), includes scripts, agreements, proposals, research, and casting information for a number of film and television projects Nair did not complete, including a film about boy soldiers in the National Resistance army in Uganda, and an adaptation of the novel Tsotsi by Athol Fugard. Nair had also hoped to direct an adaptation of the Gregory David Roberts novel Shantaram, to star Johnny Depp. Material related to this project includes electronic files (represented in this finding aid by #E.5) including storyboards and images. The subseries is arranged chronologically by project.

Series III, PHOTOGRAPHS AND AUDIOVISUAL, 1986-2011 (PD.1f-PD.7, CD-129.1--CD-129.2, DVD-163.1--DVD-163.11, Vt-341.1--Vt-341.5) includes photographs of Nair on the sets of several of her films, directing or talking with cast and crew. Film stills and some publicity photographs are located in Series II. The audiovisual material includes promotional videotapes for the Maisha Film Lab featuring Nair; interviews of Nair upon the release of The Namesake; digital video cassettes of auditions and rehearsals of Monsoon Wedding, and videotapes and DVDs of auditions for The Namesake, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and Shantaram. The series is arranged by format.