The Reluctant Fundamentalist (The Reluctant Fundamentalist)
Special Screening
Mira Nair / Feature Narrative / India, Pakistan, United States of America / 2012 / 128 min / Colour / DCP
In English, Urdu / Arabic, English subtitles
Interests: Thriller, Adaptation
MENA Premiere
Synopsis
Based on Mohsin Hamid’s best-selling novel, Mira Nair’s timely new film is a gripping thriller that explores the cultural divide between East and West since the attacks of 9/11. Changez (Riz Ahmed) and Bobby (Liev Schreiber) meet in a Lahori teahouse, where the young Pakistani professor tells the American journalist his story. He recounts his relentless pursuit of corporate success on Wall Street and the path that led him back to his native Pakistan when his American dream began to crumble after 9/11. Eventually, the hidden agenda of the meeting is revealed. Layered with traditional Pakistani songs, Urdu poetry set to music, cutting-edge Pakistani pop, and a new original song from Peter Gabriel, composer Michael Andrews’ score is a rich tapestry representing the intertwining of old and new. A powerhouse performance by Ahmed and Nair’s confident direction ensure this will be one of the most-talked-about films of the year.
About the Directors
Born in Bhubaneswar, India, in 1957, Mira Nair made several documentaries before achieving international acclaim with ‘Salaam Bombay’, which won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes in 1988. Subsequent films, often focusing on cultural identity, have included ‘Mississippi Masala’ (1991), ‘My Own Country’ (1998), ‘Monsoon Wedding’ (which won the Golden Lion in Venice in 2001), ‘Vanity Fair’ (2004) and ‘The Namesake’ (2008).
Credits
- Director
- Mira Nair
- Screenwriter
- Mohsin Hamid, Ami Boghani, William Wheeler
- Producer
- Lydia Dean Pilcher
- Cast
- Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson, Liev Schreiber, Kiefer Sutherland, Martin Donovan, Om Puri