I was a complete outsider: Mira Nair on feelings of alienation and failing to fit in

Filmmaker Mira Nair, known for her critically acclaimed work such as The Namesake, Mississippi Masala and The Reluctant Fundamentalist recently detailed the isolation she experienced as an Indian filmmaker in the west during a virtual speech at the convocation ceremony of the Film and Television Insititute of India (FTII). 

As reported by Times of India, Nair detailed the struggle of her early years as a filmmaker. She shared, “As an Indian filmmaker in New York in the 80s, I would ride the bus with all my documentaries tucked under my arms, and would show them to anyone who would want to see them- women's groups, NGOs, universities.”

On how she had to deal with tone-deaf comments, she added further, “I had to tolerate audiences who would ask me if there was tap water in India, and how come I spoke such good English?”

The filmmaker explained that she dealt with feelings of alienation since she felt like she didn’t fit in anywhere. “Those years, I must say I discovered the loneliness of being an artist. I didn’t want to be a cultural ambassador of my country, educating Americans about my homeland. But back home in India, my films were also alternative. Mired into the reality of the streets, they were faithful to the idea that truth is strange and more powerful than fiction. My documentaries were the opposite of anything that came out of what is now known as Bollywood. I was a complete outsider. There is a saying in our country- 'Dhobi ka kutta, na ghar ka na ghat ka'. And for years of making films, I felt like that dhobi ka kutta. Not understood at home, but considered a novelty abroad.”

However, according to Nair, the fact that she lived in two different worlds was beneficial to her as an artist, allowing the filmmaker to function with greater empathy and appreciation for different perspectives. "I found that people who inhabit different worlds can see through each of them. It is such people who have a sense of modesty, who know that there are other ways of seeing, and who develop an appreciation - rather than a mere charitable tolerance - for other ways of life."