KARACHI: Filmmaker Mira Nair's latest thriller “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”, starring Shabana Azmi and Om Puri, will open the 69th edition of Venice film festival next month.

An adaptation of Pakistani writer Mohsin Hamid’s book of the same name, the film will have
its world premiere in an out-of-competition screening at the festival which runs from August
29 to September 8, the official website of the festival said.

Apart from Azmi, the film also stars Hollywood actor Kate Hudson, Kiefer Sutherland and Liev
Schreiber. Actor Riz Ahmed, who was last seen in Freida Pinto starrer “Trishna”, has been
cast by Nair to play the lead “Changez”.

Venice Festival Director Alberto Barbera said they decided to open the festival with Nair’s
film because it is an “exemplary film adaptation of a novel that deals with the topical
issue of fundamentalism of any kind or nature.”

“The Festival's opening night will feature a film that provides much food for thought. It is
a choice that intends to highlight the growing role of female creativity in all spheres of
culture and contemporary society,” Barbera said.

Adapted by William Wheeler and produced by Lydia Dean Pilcher, the film was shot in the
cities of Lahore, Delhi, Istanbul, New York and Atlanta.

Nair, the Golden Lion winner in 2001 for “Monsoon Wedding”, is returning to the festival for
the fifth time.

Previously, Mira Nair has also presented “Mississippi Masala” and “Vanity Fair” at the
festival.