SuChin’s Take:

Firstly, let me say, Jhujmpa Lahiri is one of my favorite authors. The Namesake was the first book I ever read that gave a version of the immigrant experience in America, that seemed true to me. Like when the main character wants to just pack a pb&j sandwich for lunch and not somosas. I was a stinky lunch girl too, only not somosas but of the kimchee and dried fish variety. I dreamed of packing little sandwiches of processed meat snuggled between crust-less pieces of spongy white Wonder Bread… mmmmm. So, the thought of this beloved novel being turned into a film, directed by none other than Mira Nair, well, it just couldn’t be better. The film is amazing, will have you in tears, the good kind. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned about meeting celebrities, especially those in the entertainment industry, is that for some reason, without fail, like a law of science, those that you admire, those people you’re dying to meet, are the most difficult. My rule of thumb has been to avoid meeting artists that you really like because you may not be able to separate your real life encounter with their work. Mira Nair is a role model to anyone who’s been told that their point of view, their casting choices, their subject matter won’t find an audience. Again and again, she’s fought the system, casted non-whites in leads, explored uneasy topics of love, sex, race and class. So let’s just say she’s a woman who knows what she wants, has very little patience for the things she doesn’t want to do and doesn’t mind confrontation. Which always makes for a fun interview.

// SuChin Pak

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Filmed at Tribeca Cinemas Gallery
13 Laight Street / Tribeca / New York

Running time: 16 minutes. Click here to watch a 6-minute highlights edit of this interview.