Bombay or Mumbai, it's the same, says Nandita

New Delhi, April 22 (IANS) 'What difference does it make whether you call it Bombay or Mumbai?' asks actress-filmmaker Nandita Das, who has moved to Mumbai after living in the national capital for years.

The main reason she shifted base this year, she says, is for the sake of her love - husband Subodh Maskara.

'I never wanted to shift to Mumbai, but as they say 'never say never' and I shifted for the right reason. I didn't shift for my acting or direction, but because I fell in love and you are where your heart is,' Nandita, who is visibly in the family way, told IANS.

The multi-lingual actress, who also made her mark as a director with 'Firaaq', says she would love to learn Marathi.

'I have no resistance to learning Marathi. I have done a Marathi film too,' said Nandita, who was here to deliver the Silver Jubilee lecture at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).

The actress spoke on 'Identity and the notion of the 'Other'.

'What difference does it make whether you call it Bombay or Mumbai? I still call it Bombay and in Hindi we still call it Bambai. I recollect that Karan Johar even had to apologise for using Bombay in 'My Name Is Khan'.

'Cosmopolitan multi-lingual people have contributed to Bombay, coming from all different parts. Everybody is as much a Mumbaikar as Maharashtrians are,' she said.

Nandita Das says her statement is not directed against anyone and says she is against people who say Mumbai 'belongs to a certain community. I am completely against this kind of divisive politics'.

Asked if she wasn't afraid talking so candidly, she said: 'If we continue being afraid of anything, that's how they are gaining momentum. They are playing on our fears. Like for 'My Name Is Khan'... it was just the people of Bombay who went and saw the film. We just have to outnumber them.'