As the New York City mayoral election draws near, a decade-old interview with filmmaker Mira Nair has cast a fresh spotlight on her son, Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic socialist candidate currently leading the polls. In a 2013 conversation with The Hindustan Times, Nair described her then-college-aged son as “not an American at all” and “a total desi”—terms that have since ignited a firestorm of debate about identity, belonging, and what it means to be American in the city’s most high-profile political race.
The resurfaced interview, originally conducted when Mamdani was 21 and studying Arabic and Politics at Bowdoin College, has become a lightning rod for criticism and soul-searching alike. Nair, an internationally acclaimed filmmaker, told the publication, “He is a total desi. Completely. We are not firangs at all. He is very much us. He is not an American at all.” For those unfamiliar, “desi” is a term for people of South Asian descent, while “firang” is often used in India as a derogatory word for foreigners, particularly Westerners. Nair elaborated, “He was born in Uganda, raised between India and America. He is at home in many places. He thinks of himself as a Ugandan and as an Indian.”
The context of these remarks is important. Nair explained that the family “speaks only Hindustani at home” and that Mamdani “often” traveled to India throughout his academic years. At the time, Mamdani was not yet a U.S. citizen—he came to the United States at age seven, held dual U.S.-Uganda citizenship, and only became a naturalized American in 2018. His upbringing, as described by his mother, was cosmopolitan and deeply rooted in Indian culture, with a strong connection to his Ugandan birthplace.
In the interview, Nair also noted her son’s early interest in politics. “He is very involved with current affairs, politics, and political issues,” she said. “I think he can be engaged in the world in some way to make a difference. He is very, very interested in that.” She described him as “a very chaalu (witty) fellow,” and made it clear she had no interest in steering him into filmmaking, saying, “He should do whatever he wants to do. I don’t see it in him to make movies.”
But as the mayoral contest heats up, these decade-old comments have become ammunition for Mamdani’s critics. Attorney Mehek Cooke, an Indian-born GOP consultant, told Fox News Digital that the use of “firang” in this context is “nothing short of a slur.” Cooke argued, “It’s the word used back in India to mock outsiders, to say you don’t belong. Using it here about your own child raised in the United States carries the same tone as calling someone a derogatory word—or worse. It’s flippant, divisive, and dripping with contempt for the very country that gave your family a better life.”
Cooke continued, “When Mamdani’s mother says her son was ‘never a firang and only desi,’ it’s a rejection of America. It’s ungrateful, disrespectful, and frankly repulsive to live in this country since age seven, receive every freedom, education, and opportunity America offers, and still deny being American.” She later added, “This isn’t just about identity, it’s about values. Rejecting the label of ‘American’ while living under the flag, enjoying the freedoms, and cashing in on the opportunities is a rejection of American values themselves.”
Despite the controversy, Mamdani’s campaign has shown resilience. According to a Suffolk University poll, he currently leads the mayoral race with 44 percent support, followed by former Governor Andrew Cuomo at 34 percent and Republican Curtis Sliwa at 11 percent. The election, set for November 4, 2025, is shaping up to be one of the most contentious in recent memory, with issues of identity, immigration, and belonging taking center stage alongside debates over policy.
Mamdani, now 34 and a state assemblyman, has built his campaign on progressive proposals: freezing rent hikes for a year, making buses free, and increasing taxes on wealthy New Yorkers. His political stances, especially regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, have also drawn attention. He has accused Israel of genocide, promised to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu if he visits New York, and declared that he cannot support a country that is officially Jewish and grants Palestinians fewer rights, as reported by The New York Times. On the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 massacre, the Israeli Foreign Ministry labeled Mamdani “a mouthpiece for Hamas propaganda,” even though he condemned the group’s attack.
His family’s history has continued to fuel debate. Earlier this year, Mamdani’s 2009 Columbia University application was leaked, revealing he identified as both “Asian” and “Black or African American.” Critics, including New York Mayor Eric Adams and Cuomo, took issue with this, with Cuomo calling it “an insult to every student who got into college the right way.” Mamdani defended his decision, explaining, “Most college applications don’t have a box for Indian-Ugandans, so I checked multiple boxes trying to capture the fullness of my background.”
Adding to the scrutiny, Mamdani’s father, Mahmood Mamdani, a 79-year-old Columbia University professor, stirred controversy in July 2025 when an excerpt from his 2004 book referred to suicide bombers as a “category of soldier.” In the book, he wrote, “We need to recognize the suicide bomber, first and foremost, as a category of soldier. Suicide bombing needs to be understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism.” While Mahmood stressed that Zohran is “his own person,” Nair countered that their work and worldview inevitably shaped their son’s outlook.
For supporters, Mamdani’s multicultural background and outsider perspective are strengths, reflecting the diversity of New York itself. His campaign has drawn endorsements from figures like Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who joined him at a recent rally in Queens. They argue that Mamdani’s experiences—his Ugandan birth, Indian heritage, and American upbringing—equip him to represent a city of immigrants and strivers.
Yet for critics, the resurfaced remarks from his mother and the family’s sometimes controversial positions raise uncomfortable questions about loyalty, assimilation, and the responsibilities of public service. As Cooke put it, “If you raise your child to believe he was ‘never a firang,’ never an American, what message are you sending? That he owes nothing to this nation? That he can take the benefits without any sense of belonging or loyalty? That mindset breeds resentment. And that’s exactly what we’re seeing play out in politics today.”
With the mayoral election just days away, the debate over what it means to be “American enough” has become a central theme. For Mamdani, the challenge will be to convince voters that his complex identity is not a liability, but a testament to the city’s enduring promise—a place where anyone, from anywhere, can belong, lead, and make a difference.
