The Reluctant Fundamentalist

The Reluctant Fundamentalist follows Changez, a young Pakistani man who graduates from Princeton and builds a promising career as a financial analyst at a New York firm. He is well paid and becomes involved with Erica, an American photographer. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, his position in the city changes: he is treated with suspicion because of his background, and the hostility around him forces him to reconsider his ambitions and his sense of belonging. Years later, in Lahore, Changez is a university professor caught up in unrest involving Islamist student groups, and he agrees to be interviewed by an American journalist, Bobby Lincoln, about his life and the disappearance of a colleague.

Mira Nair directed the film, which came after Amelia in her filmography and before Queen of Katwe. William Wheeler wrote the screenplay, and Lydia Dean Pilcher produced. Riz Ahmed plays Changez, with Kate Hudson as Erica, Liev Schreiber as Bobby Lincoln, Kiefer Sutherland as Jim Cross, Om Puri as Abu and Shabana Azmi as Ammi. The production was an international one involving India, Qatar and the United States, made for a budget of 15 million USD. It earned 2 million USD worldwide, a small fraction of its cost. On IMDb it holds 6.8/10 from 15,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.6/10 from 251 votes, while the film critics' rating stands at 6.1/10 from 99 reviews.