The Reluctant Fundamentalist is the screen adaptation of the Mohsin Hamid's famous novel of same name by Mira Nair. The story beings in Lahore with the abduction of Rainier, an American professor by extremists who demand the release of several hundreds of their brethren from jail as well as a hefty ransom. Bobby Lincoln (Liev Shcreiber), an American journalist working with the CIA, meets Changez (Riz Ahmed), a fellow lecturer at the univeristy at a local Tea House frequented by the students of the university. Bobby feels that Changez is involved with the abductors and intends to persuade him to help in the release of the abducted professor. Changez comes across as slippery and insists on narrating his own story first which is presented in a series of flashbacks.
Changez is from an upper caste family in Lahore. His father is a famous poet (Om Puri) and his mother (Shabana Azmi) is a housewife. He wins a scholarship to Princeton and after his successful studies, is employed by a coveted Wall Street investment banking firm. Changez loves America and is enjoying every minute of living his American dream even as he is swiftly climbing the corporate ladder by his sheer hard work and brilliance. He also has a girlfriend in Erica (Kate Hudson), a photographer who is still grieving her deceased boyfriend. But his dream life unravels and comes crashing down quite literally when the planes strike down the twin towers. Changez finds his adopted homeland through the eyes of an unwanted alien who is seen with suspicion and is humiliated repeatedly by a nation and people who are themselves jolted to their core.
Post 9/11, he finds that the America is a nation transformed and is no longer the most hospitable nation or his adopted home, he was so fond of. While his colleagues do not change their attitude towards him as an individual, he senses a rising sense of anger and hostility in them against his religion and his part of the world. This brings about a profound transformation in his own self. He, quite abruptly, drops his American dream and heads back home to Lahore where he begins working as a lecturer in the university. Even as Bobby finds his patience wearing thin as he feels that every minute lost could endanger the life of the abducted professor, he indulges Changez hoping to find some useful lead that could aid in the release of the professor. The tension is compounded when the students gather to protest against police as well as the local CIA unit which has been listening to the conversation between Bobby (Bobby is carrying a wire) and Changez decides to swoop down on them. The film continues on a tense which is filled with suspense even as the viewer is engrossed in a suspense on what would transpire of the conversation and what would be the fate of the professor, Bobby and Changez as well his students who appear to be poised on the verge of a violent eruption.
There is no doubt that Mira Nair's movie is an engaging political thriller. Yet, at it's heart, it is an observant drama that studies the multiple transformations at various levels through its characters. Perhaps, it is this conflict arising in trying to meld the two genres and Mira's pronounced inclination to lean more to the drama part of it results in the thriller part of it being underwhelming. It is set against the background of the events of 9/11 which has irreversibly transformed the world. While we see the life of our protagonist, Changez, transformed by the changes in his external world, he also transforms within, as a reaction, perhaps more than the world around him. How much does he change ? Does he still love America despite being jilted for no fault of his or is he still smarting on the deep wounds inflicted on his psyche ?
Ahmed gives a measured and mature performance as Changez. Liev Shreiber, Kate Hudson, Keifer Sutherland, Om Puri and Shabana Azmi pitch in as effective, albeit, minor cameos. The movie is technically brilliant with a lively music and brilliant cinematography which captures the earthy and rich hues of Lahore as well as the urgency of the narrative. Nevertheless, there are parts of the movie which are not fully convincing and movie itself could be better paced. The movie engages the viewer and stokes many relevant questions that have captured our collective conscience post 9/11...
VERY GOOD WATCH !
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