Making films is about having absolute and foolish confidence; the challenge for all of us is to have the heart of a poet and the skin of an elephant. Mira Nair More Quotes by Mira Nair More Quotes From Mira Nair I grew up in a very small town which is remote even by Indian standards. I always dreamed of the world. Mira Nair small-town towns world I am an independent film-maker first and foremost. I have always cut my own cloth. Mira Nair independent cutting firsts In our house we say 'adolescence' is a western word. We don't believe in it. Mira Nair adolescence house believe My family is almost exactly like the one in 'Monsoon Wedding'. We are very open, fairly liberal, loud people. Mira Nair monsoons my-family people My films, no one else will do. Mira Nair film I often begin movies with music in my head; it's a very important dimension to me. Not just the music itself, but how to use music in film: when and how and subtlety. I don't like to be too sweet in my stories, and I like the abrasive clang, the contrasting of sounds and cultures. Mira Nair important sound sweet We have three generations at home, including my father-in-law. I keep a very low profile, and a lot of things I do are very much with the family in mind. I have actually made films with the family around me. Mira Nair law home father Americans are not used to being bombed in their beds, but if you come from anywhere outside America, it's not highly unusual. Mira Nair unusual bed america I look for the humanity in people, however big the politics or oppressive the situation may be, whether it's subsumed within a human being or between two human beings. I want to help us hold a mirror to ourselves. Mira Nair mirrors two people Every frame and every scene has to have an intention. Mira Nair intention scene They say now in America that final cut doesn't mean anything. As Harvey Weinstein said to some film-maker, 'You can have final cut. I'll open your film in Arkansas.' Mira Nair cutting mean america Never take no for answer, and try to make films that turn you on. Mira Nair film answers trying It took me three years to learn to dress in the American way, especially in winter. That was just like me. I barely wear socks even now. Mira Nair winter way years It's only at this age that I can say the word 'art' without flinching. Mira Nair i-can age art Christmas lights may be the loneliest thing for me, especially if you mix them up with reindeers and sleighs. I feel alone. I feel isolated. I feel I do not belong. Mira Nair christmas light may You know, the sad thing of post-9/11, which was of course horrific, was that the city in which I felt completely at home for two decades, suddenly people like us - brown people - were looked at as the 'Others.' Mira Nair cities home two I've loved 'Vanity Fair' since I was 16 years old. You know, we're all colonial hangovers in India, steeped in English literature. It is one of these novels that I read under the covers at my convent boarding school in Simla. Mira Nair hangover years school Bollywood actors are so set in what they want, and the way they want it. And why shouldn't they be? But it is not the same in Hollywood, because the love of the audience is not the same. Mira Nair bollywood hollywood actors Truth is more peculiar than fiction. Life is really a startling place. Mira Nair peculiar life-is fiction Life is short, so I'm knowing exactly where I'm putting my time. I don't want to do things that I don't have to do. Mira Nair short life-is-short time life
