Mira Nair chooses Pak-born Riz Ahmed for Reluctant Fundamentalist

Earlier, there were talks that Mira Nair was hobnobbing with the idea of casting Ranbir Kapoor in her upcoming film The Reluctant Fundamentalist. The latest is that Nair has ended all talks by deciding to cast Pakistan-born actor Riz Ahmed to play the protagonist in the above movie. Talking to us over the phone, the director explained, "For my film I did audition Ranbir Kapoor, but since the role demanded worldliness which I found in Riz Ahmed, I opted for him.” Riz made the cut after an over two years search as he possessed the right qualities which the character needed as he was born in Pakistan, lived in England and is also an active rapper. Directed by Nair, the film adapted from the cult 2007 novel by Mohsin Hamid about the tragic fall of a Pakistani youth because of love, is based in Delhi, Lahore and New York. It has now come to light that the director turned her face off Ranbir in spite of having auditioned him for the role of the protagonist in her ambitious film. The Barfi star was auditioned for the role of protagonist Changez. The character goes from the streets of Lahore, studies at a University in US, epitomises the American dream as Changez goes up to achieve success on the Wall Street and also loves Kate Hudson. "I think Indian actors portray the role of an NRI in a wrong way; they cannot get it right," Nair observed. The film is expected to release sometime this year.