Mira Nair shoots with Riz Ahmed

Mira Nair has begun shooting for “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” in India. Riz Ahmed, who is playing the male lead in the movie, is shooting the movie in Delhi along with Pakistani singer-actor Meesha Shafi. However, shooting of Kate Hudson’s portions are already over in New York and it’s unlikely that the actor will be coming down to India.
Says director Mehreen Zabbar of “Ramchand Pakistani” fame, who is the consultant for this movie, “I was going to be the second unit director but am caught up on my own shoot in New York.So, my dates didn’t match and I couldn’t make it to India. I have been involved for the last two years with this project. I helped Mira in the Pakistan casting sessions as well as introducing music from Pakistan to her.”
Joining Riz in the filming in India will be Shabana Azmi and Om Puri, who will be playing his parents on-screen. Apart from shooting for Mira’s film, Riz has also released a short documentary on Occupy Wall Street. Says the singeractor, who last shot in India for Michael Winterbottom’s “Trishna”, “It was a spontaneous decision. I spent a day at OWS with The Kominas. It was amazingly diverse, emotional, and in some ways, very organized despite being anarchic. I had just gone to check out the protest and ended up interviewing people there. The feeling of anger with Obama from people on the left was not what I had expected. I have uploaded my documentary on YouTube.”