Meesha reaches Tinseltown
Pakistani singer to embrace The Reluctant Fundamentalist.
L’Oreal Pakistan spokesperson Meesha Shafi is all set to feature in the Hollywood venture, The Reluctant Fundamentalist along with Kate Hudson, Kiefer Sutherland, Om Puri and Shabana Azmi.
Internationally acclaimed film-maker Mira Nair — director of Salaam Bombay!, Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake — has begun shooting for her new film which is based on Pakistani writer Mohsin Hamid’s best-selling novel of the same name. A Mirabai Films and Cine Mosaic production, the film is adapted by Bill Wheeler, Hamid, and Ami Boghani and produced by Lydia Dean Pilcher. Shooting for the film began this week on locations in Atlanta, New York, Lahore, Delhi and Istanbul.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a riveting thriller about Changez, a young Pakistani man chasing corporate success on Wall Street. However, after the 9/11 catastrophe, Changez experiences a seismic shift in his own attitude, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power and, maybe even love.
The multicultural project stars Riz Ahmed (The Road to Guantanamo, Four Lions, Black Gold) in the lead role of Changez alongside actors Kate Hudson (Bride Wars, Nine, Something Borrowed), Liev Schreiber (Salt, The Manchurian Candidate) and Kiefer Sutherland (“24”).
The project was finalised when Nair flew down to Lahore to discuss the script with Hamid a few months ago. It has been reported that the Indian film-maker took the help of Pakistan experimental film-maker Mehreen Jabbar to finalise the cast of her latest venture.
According to indiantelevision.com, Nair, who may be best known for Monsoon Wedding, is also planning to shoot her novel inspired film in Pakistan, becoming the third Indian film-maker along with Yousaf Saeed and Mahesh Bhatt to do so.
(With additional information from koolmuzone.com)
Published in The Express Tribune, October 8th, 2011.