Film Fare

gulz r
MEGHNA GULZAR IS ENJOYING TH
FIRST 100-CRORE HIT OF HE
CAREER. ANALITA SETH MEETS TH
HEART AND ART BEHIND RAA
Meghna Gulzar’s penchant for complex emotions and
nuanced narratives was noticed way back in Filhaal in
2002. Talvar, in 2015, was her moment of epiphany when
she gently changed perception about the 2008 Noida
double murder case. Yet again, she stepped on the firing
line with Raazi, based on Harinder Sikka’s book Calling
Sehmat. The story of a Kashmiri Muslim woman, who
married a Pakistani army officer to spy for her country,
may have earned patriotic patronage and 100 crores plus
at the box-office. But Meghna’s triumph lies beyond that.
It lies in her ability to dwell on the vulnerability in valour,
the human ravage of war and those stories of heroism that
do not make way into history books. Above all, her triumph
lies in commemorating Sehmat, a heartbroken woman, who
died years before her final rites...
Zindagi
hai
HOW DO YOU FEEL
ABOUT THE AMAZING
RECEPTION RAAZI
HAS RECEIVED?
When people you look up
to as filmmakers, praise
your work, it’s precious.
Like Rajkumar Hirani sir
did. I was moved because
I look up to him. It’s
heartening when you read
tweets about people giving
a standing ovation to the
film. Pakistanis, who have
seen the film, well... their
scepticism seems to have
faded. This is the response
you wish for a film like
this, particularly in the
times we live in. There’s
gratitude and relief.
WAS IT DIFFICULT TO
ADAPT SUCH A POLITICALLY
SENSITIVE STORY?
When you’re aware of what
could foster divisiveness,
you avoid it while writing
or directing it. Also, your
own sensibility is not the
kind to rake up controversy
rather just to tell a story.
WHAT WAS THE ONE MOMENT
IN HARINDER SIKKA’S NOVEL
SEHMAT CALLING THAT
URGED YOU TO MAKE RAAZI?
I didn’t read the book and
IF THERE
WAS AN
EXPRESSION
FROM ALIA
(BHATT),
WHICH I HAD
NOT OKAYED...
EVEN BEFORE
I COULD ASK
HER TO DO IT
DIFFERENTLY,
SHE’D PICK IT
UP... SHE’S SO
QUICK ON THE
UPTAKE
With Alia Bhatt
then decide to make a film
on it. The story was shared
by two different producers,
who approached me with
the same book. I got to
know the story before
I read the book. So, there’s
no one moment. But the
last thing Sehmat (Alia
Bhatt) tells her mother
(Soni Razdan), the way that
has been expressed and
executed is different from
that in the book. Then Iqbal
(Vicky Kaushal) giving
Sehmat his mother’s payal