Riz Ahmed, Liev Schreiber, Kate Hudson, and Kiefer Sutherland star in "The Reluctant Fundamentalist," based on the novel of the same name and directed by Mira Nair. In 2011, an American professor in Pakistan is kidnapped. When the U.S. embassy receives a ransom note, it's in the form of a video, demanding the release of detainees and money.An American journalist (Schreiber) who is a CIA informant obtains an interview with a suspect in the kidnapping, one Changez Khan (Ahmed), a professor at the same university.informant in Pakistan, arranges to interview a colleague of Rainer, Changez Khan (Riz Ahmed), who he suspects is involved in the kidnapping. Changez asks to tell his story from the beginning.He comes from a good family, his father a known poet, but money is scarce in his family. Changez wins a scholarship to Princeton and afterward is hired by a valuation firm on Wall Street.Changez soon proves how gifted he is at the job, and his boss (Sutherland) puts him on the fast track for promotion.Meanwhile, Changez meets a photographer, Erica (Hudson) and the two become involved, though she is not yet over the death of her fiancé. They break up after her art show, where he feels betrayed, as she used elements of their relationship.After the World Trade Center falls, things change. Ahmed is strip- searched at the airport and interrogated. He is arrested upon leaving his office one day. He grows a beard, saying it reminds him of where he comes from, and it's no doubt an act of defiance. After refusing to close a publishing house in Istanbul, Changez loses his job and returns to Pakistan. The question is, did he take up arms? After loving America, does he now hate it?One reason Mira Nair made this film was to show another side of Pakistan, that of a vibrant country filled with youth and educated people, not simply a country filled with poverty and violence.It's a thought-provoking film about the effect of terrorism on the innocent, not only in our country but in others as well. Ahmed, who wanted the American dream, becomes a victim of racial profiling, of suspicion, of fear.The point that Ahmed makes is that every person is made up of many qualities, no one is just a criminal, a professor, a terrorist, and there are no simple answers.The movie feels long, it's talky, but the acting is superb and draws you right into the film. When Ahmed goes back to Pakistan for his sister's wedding, he goes into a mosque. Without him speaking, you know he's thinking, maybe back here is where I belong.It's one thing to be a terrorist, to be rooted out and arrested, but to leave a country because you don't feel you belong there any longer and no one wants you there is sad. Alas, it's been going on for centuries with no end in site.

"The reluctant fundamentalist" is an excellent movie which offers everything. It is gripping from very start ... "Riz Ahmad" is an exceptionally good actor. I wonder why people don't know about him. With his charismatic and diverse personality he has given true color to his character/role.Liev Schreiber was equally good in a supporting role. All credit goes to 'Mira Nair' for directing this to perfection. Hats off to her work of art...This movie gives a very strong message in a very interesting way... Its a must watch... it shows the other side of picture ...

Mira Nair's gift for storytelling is not often evident in this strident, one-dimensional film that manages to turn the complex emotions that surround 9/11 into a dull, clichéd story of how racism in America could cause more global horror. Some good acting can't rescue a fairly trite script that sounds like highlights of the much better novel that it was based on.Nair's Monsoon Wedding was about real people, and it remains one of the greatest films of the past 30 years. Even her Vanity Fair was more emotionally connected than this. Save yourself the 2:10 running length and pick up the book.

This movie offers a different perspective on the matters in middle east by telling a story from a Pakistani perspective, who saw the best and worst of both worlds. In almost daily barrage of movies glorifying western culture, this was as refreshing as Four Lions was in 2010. I always wanted to see a fully other side of perspective movie done well, whether it be a movie seeing world from a eastern perspective, from a communist one, a Nazi one or any other that often gets showed under "yep thats evil go away". They are still humans, they still have feelings and they still have motivations. The main character of a movie says: "Yes, I'm a Muslim. Yes, I'm a Pakistani. Yes, I hate your people for what they do to my people. But that's not all I am". And that is the main point of this whole movie, it shows that humans are humans everywhere, regardless of their nationality, religion or political alignment. This is complimented by great score, good acting and interesting, realistic characters. The author does not shy away from showing character weakness, faults, and the characters seem to be aware of this as well. This is one of those movies that are executed so well that at the end you are left wanting more of it. And thats rare these days.