Challenges of a complex identity

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Rizwan in a still from The Reluctant Fundamentalist

In 2006, British-Pakistani actor and MC, Rizwan “Riz” Ahmed released a song called Post 9/11 Blues. Little did he know that seven years later he would have a starring role in what is already being considered by many as the definitive film on the effects of 9/11. In a telephonic chat, Riz talked about signing on for The Reluctant Fundamentalist, playing Changez Khan and more.

The team has been promoting the film extensively over the past few days. What’s the experience been like?
It’s really entertaining and gripping because that’s what Mira Nair does. But it’s also the kind of film that when it’s done, everyone wants to stick around and talk about it because it’s challenging and it’s provocative. It talks about two of the most important issues of our time: the collapse of money, the global financial crisis and it talks about religious fundamentalism. People have a lot to say about that because they are affected by it and they have strong views. I’m really excited to see how people respond to it in India.

You were detained by airport authorities while returning from the Berlin Film Festival where your film The Road to Guantanamo won the Silver Bear. Were there other parts of Changez’s experience that you could identify with?
The abuse of airport officials for sure, but I can identify with Changez’s experience of growing up in two different cultures and classes as well. The feeling of being uncomfortable because he has such a complicated identity. It’s a very modern condition — having a complex identity, and not being sure of whether you should show that complexity or not. Because in a world where people see everything in white and black, and where fundamentalism paints the world into “us” and “them”, maintaining a complex self is a real challenge. And lot of people could relate to that.

While shooting at a college in Delhi, you realised that one of your great-uncles had taught there...
Yes, my great-uncle was the principal of the college. The whole thing was a massive moment in reconnection. One of the things about coming from a family that migrates to another country — your sense of history can be disrupted. Still, I felt like I was connecting to a part of my family.

The film has an incredible ensemble cast. What was the experience of working with them like?
I really learned a lot from them. Kate (Hudson) is incredibly instinctive as an actress. Shabanaji (Azmi) and Omji (Puri) are just heroes of mine.

Do you think there’s going to be a lot of interest in the film’s insights given that its release is coinciding at a time when the Boston attacks are fresh in people’s minds?
I think we live in an age where we’ve been dehumanising each other a long time. Sometimes we see people as a statistic, as the number of people who died in an attack. This film is trying to bring back the human element in the face of capitalistic fundamentalism and religious fundamentalism.

The last music album you released was in 2011. Is a new one in the offing?
Yeah absolutely, I think it is time for one.