I almost gave up on Reluctant Fundamentalist: Mira Nair

Indian American filmmaker Mira Nair has revealed how a funding crunch almost drove her to abandon her latest project 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist'.
"This film was so difficult to make financially that I almost gave up, something I hardly ever do. It was my son Zohran and husband Mahmood who pushed me because they knew it was something I just had to do," Nair told PTI during a visit to London this week to promote the film before it releases in the UK and India on May 10.
"They have seen the film now and think it is a masterpiece. And, they really do tell it like it is and that means a lot. I made the film for the young, like my son who is 21; for them to be able to question the truth that is handed to them. The film is an exercise in personal healing and reconnection; a true dialogue about identity and perception," she said.

'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' is adapted from the novel of the same name by Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid, who is also the co-screenwriter, and follows the journey of New Yorker Changez Khan in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001.
"The inspiration of the story came during my first visit to Pakistan in 2005. I was drawn to make a tale about modern day Pakistan, a country that we don't read about in newspapers. In the past 12 years, there have been so many films about Iraq and Afghanistan but always from an American point of view. I wanted to show both sides and somehow humanise the conflict that has been raging," explains Nair, herself a New Yorker whose father belonged to Lahore.

"It was intended as a dialogue between Pakistan and America, both worlds that I am familiar with. The joy of this film is that it reveals Pakistan with its extraordinary refinement and ancient culture. This world is fluidly juxtaposed with the energy of New York and the ruthlessness of corporate America," said the 55-year-old director.