Why Mira Nair did not cast Ranbir Kapoor

US-based Indian director Mira Nair, (inset) who had initially considered Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor (above) for a role in her film The Reluctant Fundamentalist, says she dropped him because she was looking for an experienced worldly man.

US-based Indian director Mira Nair, who had initially considered Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor for a role in her film The Reluctant Fundamentalist, says she dropped him because she was looking for an experienced worldly man.

“I did speak to Ranbir for The Reluctant Fundamentalist. He is a wonderful boy, a great actor. He can do anything. But I needed someone who has actually lived in different parts of the world. I needed worldliness,” said the director. Nair shared the information during a tete-e-tet with director Zoya Akhtar.

The director of acclaimed films like Salaam Bombay!, Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake, Nair later roped in Riz Ahmed for the film, based on Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid’s novel of the same name. “He is a popular actor in England. I finally found my protagonist in him,” said Nair. Making the film, which will release in India next month, was a refreshing experience for the director.

“The Reluctant Fundamentalist was refreshing because I was tired of films in the last decade,” Nair said.

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