DOHA THE much awaited fourth edition of Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF 2012) opened amidst much fanfare with the screening of “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”, a movie by Mira Nair, at Souq Waqif on Saturday.
Based on the best-selling novel of Pakistani author Mohsin Ahmed and starring Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson, Kiefer Sutherland and Liev Schreiber, the movie goes beyond stereotyping and makes a balanced portrayal of the East and the West in the wake of 9/11 attacks, says the film’s director Mira Nair. Nair led the red carpet event along with Hollywood’s Robert De Niro and other stars and filmmakers taking part in the fourth DTFF.
Addressing the media at a press conference held in Al Mirqab Boutique Hotel earlier, the Indiaborn and New York-based director said it was her intention to show another ‘face’ of the 9/11 attacks through the main character Changez played by Riz Ahmed.
“I am deeply inspired by the novel and the subject matter. I’m tired of seeing the world from one perspective,” said Nair. It took the director and her team five years to complete the film.
She said her inspiration came from her first trip to Pakistan in 2004. “The film is about modernday Pakistan and a dialogue about America,” she said.
“While making the film, I went to Pakistan five times. The music was entirely produced there.
Shooting in Lahore took four days and some of the scenes were shot in Delhi. DFI was the first backer of the film and a believer in it from inception. They stood by us and helped this film turn from a dream into reality,” Nair added.
The film, shot in Lahore, New York, Atlanta, Istanbul and Delhi, explores the cultural divide between the East and the West in the backdrop of 9/11 through the journey of Pakistani professor Changez (Riz Ahmed) from the Wall Street back to his native land. As he recounts his experience to American journalist Bobby (Liev Schreiber), the protagonist also portrays another angle to the terror, panic and stereotyping brought on by the tragedy.
Nair said she tried to portray the human side of the terror attack through the portrayal of Changez’s motivation and principles, as he finds himself caught between his love for America and loyalty to his homeland.
The movie will be opening in US cinemas on April 26.
Nair said that prior to her film’s screening during the Venice Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival she was also curious about the reaction of the West.
“People longed from this dialogue. They longed to know the other side of the story. We made this film with particular attention on balancing in terms of speaking about both worlds,” she pointed out.
Talking about the story he has presented in his novel, Mohsin Hamid said, “It is not autobiographical. The story of Changez is not my story. The choices he makes are different from mine but he comes from a world I come from.
The story is similar to my own but different,” he said. He also underlined the importance of the love story unfolding between the lead role and American girl Erica (Kate Hudson) in sending out a message to the viewers.
“Through the love story of the characters you can see how one can love America but still be disappointed and heartbroken by it,” he said.
Doha Film Institute CEO Abdulaziz al Khater hailed the relevance of the movie to the theme of the eight-day film festival. He said, “Celebration of cultural diversity is an important theme of this year’s edition of Doha Tribeca Film Festival. “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” talks across cultural divides.”
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