Filmmaker Mira Nair, whose highly acclaimed films include The Namesake, Monsoon Wedding and Salaam Bombay, will be honoured as the 'Pride of India'in New York next month at a Bollywood awards show.

According to a press release, the Bollywood Group - a South Asian entertainment company that hosts the award show annually - will be presented the award to Nair on May 26 at the Nassau Coliseum, New York.

Nair said, "The brilliant thing is that there's room for all of us - for our four-hour Bollywood extravaganzas and for my independent work - because we come from a place whose heart is as big as the ocean.

"And to those who worry about us filmmakers becoming more international than Indian, I say this - it is because my roots are so strong that I can fly."

Kamal Dandona, chairperson of the Bollywood Group, said: "In terms of promoting and promulgating India and Indian culture globally through cinema, Mira stands in a league of her own."

A Harvard university graduate, Nair made her debut feature Salaam Bombay in 1988. She followed it up with many films, some which include Mississippi Masala, Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love, My Own Country, The Laughing Club of India, Vanity Fair, Monsoon Wedding and most recently The Namesake.