Campaign director: Zohran Mamdani’s ideas are indebted to the films of his mother, Mira Nair

<p>The passionately inclusive politics of the newly-elected New York mayor have clear echoes in boundary-breaking movies such as Salaam Bombay! and Monsoon Wedding</p><p>When <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2025/nov/04/zohran-mamdani-new-york-city-mayor-election-win-pictures">Zohran Mamdani was elected</a> as New York City’s first Muslim mayor and the youngest since 1892, headlines naturally focused on his groundbreaking political rise. But for many, the spotlight also turned to a name that had already long resonated on the global stage – his mother Mira Nair.</p><p>A pioneering film-maker with a career spanning more than three decades, Nair has continually reshaped how south Asian identity is portrayed on screen. Now, with her son taking a major public office, the cultural legacy she built appears to echo in the next generation.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/nov/07/zohran-mamdani-mum-director-mira-nair-films">Continue reading...</a>