Zohran Mamdani made history on Tuesday as the 111th mayor of New York City. The 33-year-old progressive lawmaker became the city's first Muslim mayor and first person of South Asian descent to lead it in its 400-year history. He defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Born in Uganda, Zohran is the son of Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. Before entering politics, he worked in various fields including as a rap artist, on his mother's film projects, and as a foreclosure-prevention counselor. He moved to New York at age seven and attended Bronx High School of Science and Bowdoin College in Maine. Interestingly, a 14-year-old Zohran once helped his mother make a crucial career decision between two major film projects.
Teenage Zohran Guided Mother's Career Choice
At the 2018 Jaipur Literature Festival, Mira Nair revealed she was offered Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by Warner Brothers while preparing The Namesake. She was drawn to The Namesake after experiencing profound grief following her mother-in-law's unexpected death due to medical malpractice. The novel by Jhumpa Lahiri captured similar melancholy about losing a parent in a foreign country. Torn between the two projects, Mira consulted her 14-year-old son Zohran, who told her many good directors could make Harry Potter but only she could make The Namesake. His advice proved liberating. The Namesake released in 2006 starring Irrfan Khan, Tabu, and Kal Penn, becoming one of Mira's most acclaimed films.
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