The Democratic pick for New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, once advised his mother, director Mira Nair, not to work on the Harry Potter film series. Nair is an Indian-American filmmaker, best ...

According to Nair, Warner Bros. approached her to direct “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” after seeing her 2004 film “Vanity Fair,” starring Reese Witherspoon.

Mira Nair did an interview at the 2018 Jaipur Literature Festival and talked about Warner Bros. offering her the chance to direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The Bowdoin College-educated, New York State assemblymember has had an influence in his mother’s work — he is credited with convincing her to pass on the opportunity to direct “Harry Potter ...