The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Movie Review

Welcome Readers !

Fundamentals are the essential driving force of a civilized human being. Having fundamentals is like having everything clear about certain things in mind. What happens when we have everything clear about fundamentals ? Does society allow us to imply them in our life ? Film Reluctant Fundamentalist raises such question in our mind.

Film: The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Director: Mira Nair

Release Year: 2012

On 12th October 2019, a screening of this film was organized at the Department of English, MKBU. But as I received the message of film screening,  I watched entire film on YouTube the day before. At first, I liked the music at the opening scene and the parallel event of the kidnaping of the professor. The kidnaping scene becomes more intense as the song goes at the climax. The song name is Kangana.

The story is about a transformation of life of the character Changez Khan. He tells the story of his experiences when he was in USA, and how his life caught up after a terrorist attack on the twin towers of World Trade Centre in New York. People's behavior changed after the attack. When he is strictly checked by the officer at the airport, he was shocked. When his friend Erica uses the word 'Pakistani' in one exhibition, and shares about their relationship in public, Changez gets furiously disappointed. Even being the lover of America he was considered as an outsider citizen.

"During his interview with Lincoln, Changez says he was approached by a terrorist cell to become a mujahid and was tempted to accept, angry and disillusioned by "the arrogance, the blindness, the hypocrisy" of the US. He refused when told about the "fundamental truths" of the Quran, echoing a phrase from Jim Cross during their first encounter, "focusing on the fundamentals." Changez explains that both Islamic fundamentalists and blind capitalists like Underwood Samson similarly simplify and exploit people for their own means." (Wikipedia)

The final dialogue of this movie is really very thought provoking. After the accidental death of his student, Changez conveys the message from the dead student's parents at the scene of cemetery.

"उन्होंने कहा है, की हमारे बेटे के लिए आंसू ना बहाना, ये दरिया आंसुओं से कबका लबरेज़ हो चुका है। उन्होंने कहा है, हमारे बेटे का इंतेकाम ना लेना, इस दरिये में बहोत खून बह चुका है। उन्होंने कहा है की किस्मत को ना कोसना, हमारा बेटा अल्लाह को प्यारा हो गया है।"

"पोंछ लो अपने आंसू, और दुआ करो एक ऐसे मुस्ताक दिन के लिए, जब ज़ामिल और ज़ादिर नहीं होंगे, हमलावर नहीं होंगे, और आओ, अपने हमसायों को साथ लेकर आओ, और ये महरताबा से जाकर कह दो... वो अपनी किरणों को गिन के रख लें, में अपने सहरा के ज़र्रे ज़र्रे को खुद चमकना सीखा रहा हूं।"

It has become one of my favorite films because screenplay, direction, music and the story has the power to hold audience till the end.

Thank You!