The Reluctant Fundamentalist
The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a 2012
political thriller drama film based on the
2007 novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist by
Mohsin Hamid , directed by Mira Nair,
starring Riz Ahmed and Kate Hudson in lead.
The movie can be read from the post- Colonial angel that it tries to defend the Pakistani or say Muslim identity. It tries to subvert the stereotypical image of them after 9/11. All are not equal. It challenges the American way of treating people that what kind of problems people have to face in America. It also breaks the myth of America that America as a land of Dreams.
The movie has very beautiful PLOT with mixture of past and present. Changez – a young boy from Pakistan is the protagonist and movie presents his experiences in America after 9/11. Reporter from America - Hidden agent of C.I.A. takes interview of Changez and then story unfolds. In the beginning Changez is shown with beard- stereotypical image so people may think that he may be associated with the group of terrorists. But when movie goes into flashback we realise how talented he is. He got job in multinational company which is not possible for everybody. The place of interview is dull, dirty and crowded which also shows how West looks towards East. Even in Pakistan he does not associate with the terrorist group and continues to work in Lahore university. The movie beautifully presents the problems of them in America- that how roughly they were treated- ( even few years ago the news was that Bollywood Actor Shahrukh Khan has to suffer a lot at American airport for security concern only because of his surname) even they have done nothing -they were looked with doubt, not respected, people called them by bad words, spit on them, hate them- this ill treatment in America breaks the myth of equality.
PLOT:-
In the beginning of the movie, there is kidnapping of American professor, and kidnaper demands money and their release of terrorist on behalf of professor. Suspect goes on Changez, so hidden CIA agent takes his interview to get knowledge about terrorist group. And then Changez tells his story……
In his professional life, he impresses his peers
and gets earmarked by his superiors for his
work, especially Jim, the person who recruited
him, develops a good rapport with him, and
holds him in high esteem.
# he comes to see himself as a servant of the American
empire that has constantly interfered with
and manipulated his homeland . He returns
from Chile to New York without completing the
assignment and ends up losing his job.
# In the global scenario, after the September
11th attacks, there is an air of suspicion
towards Pakistanis. Changez, due to his
privileged position in society, is not among
those detained or otherwise abused, but he
notices a change in his treatment in public.
To express solidarity with his countrymen
after his trip to Chile, he starts to grow a
beard.
Emotional break down - people call him Osama.
Even his girl friend Erica starts calling him ( Gair Insan) the Other.
# Noticing the American response
to this situation, he has an epiphany that his
country is being used as a pawn. With no job,
an expiring visa and no reason to stay in
America, he moves back to Lahore.: The World Trade Center attacks took place
when Changez was in Manila on business.
When he returned to the USA, he was strip-
searched at the airport in New York. Later
on, he was thoroughly interrogated by federal
agents, after being mistakenly arrested in
the street as he just left the Underwood
Samson building. His attitude toward the USA
seemed to change During his interview with Lincoln, Changez says that at one point he was approached by a terrorist cell and asked to become a
mujahid , and he was tempted to accept,
feeling deeply angered and disillusioned by
"the arrogance, the blindness, the hypocrisy"
of the USA, but he finally refused when he
was told about the "fundamental truths" of
the Q'uran, echoing a phrase Jim Cross had
used during their first encounter, "focusing
on the fundamentals". Elaborating on the
similarities, he explains that both groups,
Islamic fundamentalists and blind capitalist
economy represented by Underwood Samson,
share the same reductionist outlook, view
people in binary terms, thus feeling entitled to get rid of those deemed unworthy
# Lincoln becomes suspicious seeing Changez
texting, the latter saying he was just
communicating with his sister, Bina suspicions turn to fury after Lincoln
receives a picture of Rainer dead, mistakenly
linking the two events. Lincoln believes the
only way to safety is to use Changez as a
shield venturing into the hostile crowded
street. Attempts are made to keep the crowd
stable but things get worse and Lincoln falls
to the ground, his gun goes off and hits
Sameer one of Changez's
student interns, who dies from the wound.
Another student fires at Lincoln from a
balcony, after which Lincoln is quickly
removed by CIA agents. Lincoln then finds
out that Rainer was in fact found dead
earlier that day, and that Changez had indeed rejected working with the suspected mastermind behind the kidnapping, Mustafa Fazil; he also told the truth about the text message. Changez delivers a eulogy at Sameer's funeral, as Lincoln recuperates in a hospital, recalling Changez's words as he listens to there cording of the interview - "Looks can be deceiving. I am a lover of America...although I was raised to feel very Pakistani.
At the end of the movie reporter realise that Changez was correct, he is truly not associated with any groups.
Post colonial is an approach in which colony writes back. We have to relook, rethink whatever spoken or written by white people. Europeans have developed pre conceived notion about the East. Even without knowing people personally or say without meeting (without first hand experience)Western people think that all(THE OTHER) are criminals , terrorist and as a result all have to suffer humiliation. So colony writes back from their point of view that it is not so. Judge a person by his work not by religion. The same was the case with Professor Edward Said, that even he was working in American University since many years, whenever there is terrorist attack or bomb blast people asked him about it. The main problem is that even if you are American by heart they will consider you and doubt you as Asian. Individual has to suffer a lot to get settled in American society. Asians are mere pawn in their economic capitalist game. Profit is everything for Americans. Relation don’t matters to them. Where as Changez- representative of Pakistani or say Asian identity speaks beautiful line in the movie that there are many things which cannot be measured by money only. This quality makes him even greater than Americans. Changez leaves very good job only because he thought that because of me many person will loose their jobs. Many people will be jobless, so what about them and their family? This was his fundamentals.
# we have to doubt whatever comes from West. Every step taken by them is under question: It is their conspiracy theory to defame East through Media Monster. media continuously go on showing and attaching terrorism with religion. So that people internalize it. And then whenever people heard about attack or bomb blast people will associate it without thinking or questioning with particular religion or groups of people.
# the fact is that America is the country who fought more battle than any other country in the history of last 60 years. But then even they are able to justify their acts.
My point is that post colonial approach challenges this West centered mentality.: Picturisation of movie is fantastic. It holds the audience. Unfolding of the story through the frame narrative is brilliant. Acting of Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson, Liev Schreiber and
Kiefer Sutherland is praise worthy.
# first meeting of Changez and Erica in the park is lifelike, and the way their relationship develops and ends is realistic.
# the conflict between American mind and Pakistani mind is clearly visible in the movie.
Movie is also attack on American Capitalism: That how workers have to loose their jobs because of Capitalization.
The line spoken by Changez is very significant that ' All matters cannot be solved only by money'
The line spoken by Changez is very significant that ' All matters cannot be solved only by money'
TRUTH HAS BEEN LESS GLORIOUS THAN DREAMS: