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" Either you're this, or you're that: either you're - if you're a Pakistani, you're a terrorist; if you're an American, you might be a militarist. Those kind of prisms that we see each other through are really stultifying, and they don't often show the complexity and the incredible warmth and encompassing of the world. "

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" I've been able to look at the world differently from three continents practically. I've always lived between India and the U.S. When I married Mahmood I became a daughter-in-law of Africa. That really changed my worldview. I can see it from so many perspectives. "

Mira Nair

Three

World

Africa

" I grew up in a very small town which is remote even by Indian standards. I always dreamed of the world. "

" I am still attracted to stories about people who are considered to be on the outside of society. I still seek inspiration from those stories. "

" It took me three years to learn to dress in the American way, especially in winter. That was just like me. I barely wear socks even now. "

" I'm inspired by people that are marginal. I'm excited by their resilience. "

" There's nothing universal about Indian families except that the family itself is deeply important across the country. It's sort of the fabric and anchor of our country. "

" In our house we say 'adolescence' is a western word. We don't believe in it. "

" I think there's a level of ignorance, when, in the callowness of youth, you imagine that you are inventing the world for the first time. You imagine that your parents don't know what it feels like to fall in love. "

" The dignity of everyday life - the beauty of it, the attitude of it - is what I live around. And it is never on screen, and it is certainly never associated with Africa. If we see Africa at all, it is always used as a backdrop: a big blob of a continent rather than a specific street or a country or a place. "

" Sitting in America, we never get to know the other side in any kind of believable way. We have so many movies about Iraq, Afghanistan, and this and that, but there is never a character from that side. "

" I'm the bullheaded type, and I really don't give up if I fall in love. "

Mira Nair

Fall

Give

" Americans are not used to being bombed in their beds, but if you come from anywhere outside America, it's not highly unusual. "

" Never treat anything you do as a stepping stone. Do it fully, and follow it completely. "

Mira Nair

You

Treat

" I always like to reveal the fact that the emperor has no clothes. And children are best at that. They teach us how to see the world in that sense. They are without artifice; they see it for what it is. I am drawn to that ruthless honesty. "

" I often begin movies with music in my head; it's a very important dimension to me. Not just the music itself, but how to use music in film: when and how and subtlety. I don't like to be too sweet in my stories, and I like the abrasive clang, the contrasting of sounds and cultures. "

Mira Nair

Sweet

Music

" 'Salaam Bombay' didn't put a halo on the poor. Instead, it said that they will teach us how to live. "

Mira Nair

Teach

Live

" I think I am kind of put on this Earth to speak of being between worlds in my films. "

" It is shocking that the screen does not reflect the way the world is and the diversity in the world... What the world really looks like should be on screen, and it isn't. "

" I've loved 'Vanity Fair' since I was 16 years old. You know, we're all colonial hangovers in India, steeped in English literature. It is one of these novels that I read under the covers at my convent boarding school in Simla. "

" Creative freedom is an imperative for me, but it doesn't really exist in a Hollywood game. "

Mira Nair

Game

Freedom

" I want to question what the outside is and who defines it. I often find those that are considered to be on the outside extremely inspiring. "

" We never see the fancy schools with the blazers and ties in films about Africa! But, in fact, we too have class and elitism. "

" I think in the last thirty years, the rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten poorer. It is not something that you can see with rose-colored glasses. "

" The film itself should interact with the audience. In the case of 'Queen of Katwe', people are laughing, sobbing and dancing. I am taking them on a ride... It is not like I am asking them for handouts. "

" I am actually a resident of three worlds - of America, of India, and of Africa. I live in Uganda most of the year. It's extraordinary to have that worldview that is an expansive one rather than just looking at the world from where you sit. "

" I am Indian, and my home is Kampala. My world is already diverse. But films are financed by those who want to see themselves on screen, and it is a white male world. Still, it does feel like America is waking up. Let's hope it's the start of an avalanche. "

" I don't think boldness should be associated with showing off skin. It's not the basis of boldness. "

" My family is vital to me - just the sense of being surrounded by no pretension. "

" Katwe is fifteen minutes from my home. It's entirely about knowing it from the inside. For instance, the incredible vibrancy of style. Kampala is the center of used clothing in the world. Everyone dresses in secondhand clothes, but they look astonishing for it. "

" We all know the power of film; we all know there's almost nothing more powerful than to see people on film that look and talk like you, like we do. "