Zohran Mamdani convinced Mira Nair to choose ‘The Namesake’ over ‘Harry Potter’

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who won Tuesday's Democratic primary and is the son of acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair, once played a little-known but pivotal role in cinematic history.

As a teenager, he convinced his mother to turn down a chance to direct a Harry Potter film in favour of adapting Jhumpa Lahiri's novel "The Namesake", a choice that would become one of the most defining decisions in her career.

In a 2018 conversation with journalist Vir Sanghvi at the Jaipur Literature Festival, Nair shared how she was approached to direct "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". At the time, however, she was grieving the sudden loss of her mother-in-law, Kulsoom Alibhai, whom she fondly called "Ammie". The death occurred while Alibhai was visiting New York for medical treatment.

"I turned down the offer as I was deep into directing 'Vanity Fair'. I lost my mother-in-law, who was like a mother, due to medical malpractice in New York," Nair said. "I was deep in melancholy. But at that time, I read 'The Namesake', the beautiful novel by Jhumpa Lahiri. It was also about the death of a parent. I then decided to make a film on it. I also got an offer to direct 'Harry Potter' at that time."

Caught between two emotionally resonant projects, Nair turned to her 14-year-old son for guidance. Mamdani, a self-proclaimed Potterhead, had grown up on the books that first got him into reading. But even then, he had a clear vision for his mother's legacy.

"I asked my 14-year-old son about it. He told me there are many good directors who can make Harry Potter, but there is only one director who can make 'Namesake'," she recalled.

That moment of clarity led Nair to adapt "The Namesake", which would go on to become a landmark film. Starring Kal Penn, Irrfan Khan, and Tabu, the film explores the complexities of identity, migration, and loss through the lens of Bengali-American protagonist Gogol Ganguli.

Interestingly, Mamdani didn't just influence the choice of project—he also helped shape its casting. A fan of Penn from his performance in the stoner comedy "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle", Mamdani persistently suggested the actor for the lead role.

Mira was initially hesitant—until she received a heartfelt letter from Penn. "I am an actor because of your 'Mississippi Masala'. I was 8 years old when I saw it in a New Jersey mall, and I realised people on screen could look like me," the actor wrote. That note sealed the deal.

Though Mamdani didn't follow his mother into filmmaking, his creative interests were far-reaching. Once known as "Young Cardamom", he teamed up with Ugandan rapper HAB on the 2016 track "Sidda Mukyaalo". Under the alias "Mr Cardamom," he also released "Nani", a music video featuring Madhur Jaffrey as his grandmother.

Now 33, Mamdani has entered American politics with a distinct flair. His campaign for the Democratic nomination drew on Bollywood-style storytelling, featuring videos that referenced "Deewar" and employing multilingual outreach in Hindi and Bengali among many other languages.

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