Venice opener seeks to expose divisive stereotypes

VENICE, Italy (AP) - Director Mira Nair views her new film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, as a chance to fulfil what she sees as her life's purpose: telling the stories of people whose lives straddle two worlds, like her own.

Fittingly, the movie premiered on Wednesday as the opener of the Venice Film Festival, a city that historically has been a bridge between East and West.

"I believe that I have actually been put on this earth to tell stories of people like me, who live between worlds," the Indian-born and New York-based director told a news conference.

"I am a child of modern India, but I was raised by essentially a father who came from Lahore, before it was partitioned" and became part of Pakistan.