The filmmaker Mira Nair on waiting for Kate Hudson to deliver her baby so that they could work together in her next 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist'

If patience is a virtue, Mira Nair has it! The acclaimed director's upcoming film based on Mohsin Hamid's novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist stars Hollywood actress Kate Hudson. And the US-based filmmaker mentions how Kate nearly missed out on the role if not for an unforeseen delay in the production.

It was only after the original shooting schedule started that the makers realised their lead actress Kate was pregnant. She would have almost certainly been ousted if the shoot were not rescheduled.

Elaborating her first meeting with the actress and how she ended up casting her, the Oscar-nominated director says, `We really fell in love with each other. We hung out for hours in New York, which is something I never do. Kate kept sending me love-filled notes. It was sweet of her.`

Although Mira maintains that Kate was always the first choice for the post-9/11 drama, she was apparently having worried second thoughts on missing the opportunity to work with her.

`Mira was quite impressed with Kate's body of work and decided to cast her on that very basis. But then time is an asset in this business so waiting for someone can cost a lot sometimes,` says a source from the unit.

Luckily for Kate, the film's production got delayed due to several unavoidable circumstances and by then she had already delivered her son Bingham Hawn Bellamy in July 2011. `It seems funny now how the whole project got delayed and the baby came and then she was available again. She was a delight to work with. I can only say that it was meant to be,` beams Mira.