Sooni Taraporevala
Encyclopedia
Sooni Taraporevala is an internationally acclaimed screenwriter
and photographer, currently based in India
. She is best known as the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala
, The Namesake
and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay (1988), all directed by Mira Nair
.
She directed her first feature film, based on a screenplay of her own, an ensemble piece set in Bombay, in Spring, 2007, entitled "Little Zizou
.".
She did her schooling from Queen Mary School in Mumbai, and thereafter did her BA from Harvard University
, in 1980. Here she met Nair as an undergraduate, leading to their longtime creative collaboration. Next she joined the Cinema Studies Department at New York University
, and after receiving her MA in Film Theory and Criticism, in 1981, she returned to India to work as a freelance still photographer.
, both directed by Mira Nair
. Interestingly, the final drafts of both these films were written in Brooklyn
, NY. Other projects with Nair include the screenplay for My Own Country
, based on the book by Abraham Verghese
as well as the cinematic adaptation of Pulitzer-prize
winning writer Jhumpa Lahiri
’s novel, The Namesake
. The film, The Namesake
, was released in 2007.
by Rohinton Mistry
and directed by Sturla Gunnarson. Finally, she wrote the screenplay for the film Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar
, directed by Dr. Jabbar Patel
for the Government of India and the National Film Development Corporation of India[ (NFDC).
and Britain, including London
’s Tate Modern
gallery.
In Fall 2004, Ms. Taraporevala released a coffee table photography book, a first-ever visual work on India's Parsi Zoroastrian community, entitled Parsis: the Zoroastrians of India - A Photographic Journey (Overlook Press, ISBN 1-58567-593-8). A 24-year labor of love, the book offers rare photos, as well as historical and personal essays on the Zoroastrian religion and Parsi social history.
Taraporevala had previously self-published the book in India in 2000, where it sold out in just a few months. The book received glowing advance praise from film director Mira Nair
, Harvard literature professor and noted post-colonial theorist Homi K. Bhabha
, acclaimed writers Rohinton Mistry
and Bapsi Sidhwa
and conductor Zubin Mehta
.
Misc.:
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and photographer, currently based in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. She is best known as the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala
Mississippi Masala
Mississippi Masala is a romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores interracial romance between African Americans and Indian Americans...
, The Namesake
The Namesake (film)
The Namesake is a 2006 film which was released in the United States on March 9, 2007, following screenings at film festivals in Toronto and New York City. It was directed by Mira Nair and is based upon the novel of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri, who appeared in the movie. Sooni Taraporevala...
and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay (1988), all directed by Mira Nair
Mira Nair
Mira Nair is an Indian film director and producer based in New York. Her production company is Mirabai Films.She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! , won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival and also earned the nomination...
.
She directed her first feature film, based on a screenplay of her own, an ensemble piece set in Bombay, in Spring, 2007, entitled "Little Zizou
Little Zizou (film)
Little Zizou is an 2009 Indian film in Hindi, Gujarati, and English, written and directed by Sooni Taraporevala. Little Zizou is a fast-paced, exuberant, yet poignant comedy about how two battling Mumbai families finally come to terms....
.".
Early life and education
Taraporevala, who is of Parsi Zoroastrian descent, was born and brought up in Mumbai.She did her schooling from Queen Mary School in Mumbai, and thereafter did her BA from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, in 1980. Here she met Nair as an undergraduate, leading to their longtime creative collaboration. Next she joined the Cinema Studies Department at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, and after receiving her MA in Film Theory and Criticism, in 1981, she returned to India to work as a freelance still photographer.
Collaboration with Mira Nair
Ms. Taraporevala wrote the screenplays for Salaam Bombay and Mississippi MasalaMississippi Masala
Mississippi Masala is a romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores interracial romance between African Americans and Indian Americans...
, both directed by Mira Nair
Mira Nair
Mira Nair is an Indian film director and producer based in New York. Her production company is Mirabai Films.She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! , won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival and also earned the nomination...
. Interestingly, the final drafts of both these films were written in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, NY. Other projects with Nair include the screenplay for My Own Country
My Own Country
My Own Country, Abraham Verghese's first book and a New York Times Notable Book the year it appeared in 1994, has been in print since it was published...
, based on the book by Abraham Verghese
Abraham Verghese
Abraham Verghese is Professor for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at Stanford University Medical School and Senior Associate Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine. He was born in Ethiopia to parents from Kerala, India who worked as teachers. He is a Syro-Malabar Christian...
as well as the cinematic adaptation of Pulitzer-prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning writer Jhumpa Lahiri
Jhumpa Lahiri
Jhumpa Lahiri is a Bengali American author. Lahiri's debut short story collection, Interpreter of Maladies , won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and her first novel, The Namesake , was adapted into the popular film of the same name. She was born Nilanjana Sudeshna, which she says are both...
’s novel, The Namesake
The Namesake
The Namesake is the second book by author Jhumpa Lahiri. It was originally a novella published in The New Yorker and was later expanded to a full length novel. It explores many of the same emotional and cultural themes as her Pulitzer Prize-winning short story collection Interpreter of Maladies...
. The film, The Namesake
The Namesake (film)
The Namesake is a 2006 film which was released in the United States on March 9, 2007, following screenings at film festivals in Toronto and New York City. It was directed by Mira Nair and is based upon the novel of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri, who appeared in the movie. Sooni Taraporevala...
, was released in 2007.
Other Work
Her other produced credits include the film Such a Long Journey based on the novel Such a Long JourneySuch a Long Journey (novel)
Such a Long Journey is a 1991 novel by Rohinton Mistry. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won several other awards. In 2010 the book made headlines when it was withdrawn from the University of Mumbai's English syllabus after complaints from the family of the Hindu nationalist politician...
by Rohinton Mistry
Rohinton Mistry
Rohinton Mistry is an Indian-born Canadian writer in English. Residing in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, Mistry is of Indian origin, originally from Mumbai, Zoroastrian and belongs to the Parsi community. Mistry is a Neustadt International Prize for Literature laureate .-Biography:Rohinton Mistry was...
and directed by Sturla Gunnarson. Finally, she wrote the screenplay for the film Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (film)
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar is a 2000 Indian feature film in English language, directed by Jabbar Patel. The film tells the story of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, known mainly for his contributions in shaping the Constitution of India, as the chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constituent Assembly...
, directed by Dr. Jabbar Patel
Jabbar Patel
Dr. Jabbar Patel is a theatre and film director of India. His production of the play Vijay Tendulkar's play Ghashiram Kotwal, in 1973 is considered a classic in Modern Indian Theatre....
for the Government of India and the National Film Development Corporation of India[ (NFDC).
Photography
Her photographs have been exhibited in India, the US, FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Britain, including London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
’s Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
gallery.
In Fall 2004, Ms. Taraporevala released a coffee table photography book, a first-ever visual work on India's Parsi Zoroastrian community, entitled Parsis: the Zoroastrians of India - A Photographic Journey (Overlook Press, ISBN 1-58567-593-8). A 24-year labor of love, the book offers rare photos, as well as historical and personal essays on the Zoroastrian religion and Parsi social history.
Taraporevala had previously self-published the book in India in 2000, where it sold out in just a few months. The book received glowing advance praise from film director Mira Nair
Mira Nair
Mira Nair is an Indian film director and producer based in New York. Her production company is Mirabai Films.She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! , won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival and also earned the nomination...
, Harvard literature professor and noted post-colonial theorist Homi K. Bhabha
Homi K. Bhabha
Homi K. Bhabha is the Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of English and American Literature and Language, and the Director of the Humanities Center at Harvard University. He is one of the most important figures in contemporary post-colonial studies, and has coined a number of the field's neologisms and...
, acclaimed writers Rohinton Mistry
Rohinton Mistry
Rohinton Mistry is an Indian-born Canadian writer in English. Residing in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, Mistry is of Indian origin, originally from Mumbai, Zoroastrian and belongs to the Parsi community. Mistry is a Neustadt International Prize for Literature laureate .-Biography:Rohinton Mistry was...
and Bapsi Sidhwa
Bapsi Sidhwa
Bapsi Sidhwa is an author of Pakistani origin who writes in English. She is perhaps best known for her collaborative work with filmmaker Deepa Mehta: Sidhwa wrote both the 1991 novel Ice Candy Man which is the basis for Mehta's 1998 film Earth as well as the 2006 novel Water: A Novel which is...
and conductor Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
.
Personal life
She is married to Dr. Firdaus Bativala, a dental surgeon and lives in Mumbai, along with their two children, Jahan and Iyanah, both of whom did important roles in her film, Little Zizou (2009).Filmography
- Little ZizouLittle Zizou (film)Little Zizou is an 2009 Indian film in Hindi, Gujarati, and English, written and directed by Sooni Taraporevala. Little Zizou is a fast-paced, exuberant, yet poignant comedy about how two battling Mumbai families finally come to terms....
(2009) (as writer-director) - The NamesakeThe Namesake (film)The Namesake is a 2006 film which was released in the United States on March 9, 2007, following screenings at film festivals in Toronto and New York City. It was directed by Mira Nair and is based upon the novel of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri, who appeared in the movie. Sooni Taraporevala...
(2006) - Dr. Babasaheb AmbedkarDr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (film)Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar is a 2000 Indian feature film in English language, directed by Jabbar Patel. The film tells the story of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, known mainly for his contributions in shaping the Constitution of India, as the chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constituent Assembly...
(2000) - Such a Long Journey (1998)
- My Own CountryMy Own CountryMy Own Country, Abraham Verghese's first book and a New York Times Notable Book the year it appeared in 1994, has been in print since it was published...
(1998) (Showtime TV) - Mississippi MasalaMississippi MasalaMississippi Masala is a romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores interracial romance between African Americans and Indian Americans...
(1991) - Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay!Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay...
(1988)
Awards
- 1991: Golden OsellaGolden OsellaThe Golden Osella is the name of several awards given at the Venice Film Festival. They are awarded irregularly and in various categories such as directing, screenwriting, cinematography and 'technical contributions'.-Best Director:...
(Best Original Screenplay) Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
: Mississippi MasalaMississippi MasalaMississippi Masala is a romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores interracial romance between African Americans and Indian Americans...
(with Mira NairMira NairMira Nair is an Indian film director and producer based in New York. Her production company is Mirabai Films.She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! , won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival and also earned the nomination...
)
External links
Biography:Misc.: