The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Remember what I always say about reading the book before you watch the movie? Well this time around, turns out, it doesn’t matter.  Because the book is ever so slightly evolved and leaves a little too much to your imagination.  The movie on the other hand actually unravels the mystery of the book into a simpler, understandable version to us.

I am not saying at any point of time that the book was better or the movie.  Both are equally good in their own right.  It took me a little over 3 hours to finish off the book that managed to hold me (a task that many books fail miserably at).  The movie was in the same way, tight and not short of excitement through the 2 hours.

 

For those who haven’t read the book, The Reluctant Fundamentalist is the story of Changez Khan (Riz Ahmed), a Pakistani who is one of the best in his class of business analytics at Princeton.  Life isn’t hunky dory but is going quite well for this boy who comes from Lahore where his parents continue to live in an illusion of grandeur.

 

Changez gets a plum job off campus and finds a woman of his dreams – Erica (Kate Hudson).  So Degree, Naukri, Chhokri (Education, Job and Woman) all accounted for.  But things go downhill after 9/11.  Changez is subjected to a lot – like a lot of other Asians.  But in his case, it forces him to re-look at his stance of staying in the US.

 

A lot has been written and spoken about the atrocities that Asians went through after 9/11 thanks to a big section of the US who can best be described as uneducated (not illiterate).  This is yet another story that shows the same aspect.  So there is nothing terribly new about it.  But, full credit to Mira Nair and the cast for having used creative liberty to tinker a bit and call the involvement of the CIA in a more obvious manner.

 

The casting is near perfect although I did feel that Kate Hudson was a bit too old for the character of Erica Marsh.  Liev Schrieber is just superb in his role as Bobby Lincoln – a journalist based in Lahore.  And Riz Ahmed is cautiously confident.  I did feel that some of the characters like Bina (Meesha Shafi) and Bandy Uncle (Chandrachur Singh) were probably not required.  But they do more good that bad for the movie.

 

Mira Nair has kept the movie tight and credit to Shimit Amin for the editing.  TRF grabs you from frame one with some great titling that aptly goes from right to left and is set to the background of a kidnapping and Kangna (Coke Studio Pakistan I am told).  Michael Andrews use of music from the subcontinent is really good.

 

I did not find myself getting bored all through the 2 hours plus that I was watching TRF.  I was continuously comparing it to the book but couldn’t help thinking that the movie is probably a tad better – as mentioned earlier, especially for those who would like help in unraveling the story.  Make it a part of your weekend.  7 on 10.

 

Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2639832857/?ref_=tt_ov_vi