The filmmaker plans to release her film by the end of this year; it will also be the opening film at the Venice Film Festival later this month

Mira Nair's much talked-about upcoming film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, may release in India before anywhere else in the world. `We're discussing the release strategy with our Indian distributors, PVR.

My dream is to have the film released in India before year-end. But then, piracy is a serious issue to be considered if we choose to release the film in India first. No buyer has seen the film so far. They can now see the complete film in Venice and Toronto, ` says Mira.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist is the first film of Indian origin to be the opening film at the Venice Film Festival. The core cast, Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson, Keifer Sutherland and Liev Schreiber will accompany Mira to Venice and then to the Toronto Film Festival.

Says Mira, `The four main actors will be there with me in Venice. We will then go to Toronto where our film will premiere in the Gala section on September 8. So it's one hectic festival binge for us.`


Mira's films are no strangers to Venice. Says Mira, `Mississippi Masala was my first film at the Venice Film Festival where we won three awards. Then we went to Venice with Monsoon Wedding.

It won the Golden Lion. My Vanity Fair was also screened in Venice. Then I took my short film featuring Natalie Portman and Irrfan Khan to Venice. But yes, this is definitely special. No Indian film has been the opening film at the Venice festival.

Mira plans to sell The Reluctant Fundamentalist in Toronto, too. `We have many buyers tracking the film. It is shot in an unusual landscape. We shot in three continents with actors from all sides. I conceived it as a coming-of-age story about a young man in love with the US, ascends the American Dream and falls out of love with it. It's a thriller.`

Mira is currently shooting a short film entitled Words With God, which questions the validity of God. For this film, Mira will shoot in a duplex apartment in Mumbai for four days, and on the streets of Mumbai for two.