Film Fare

is the beginning of their
relationship and the other
the end. Alia, sportingly,
came and read. We filmed
that. Vicky came for the
test in a Pathan suit. As he
walked in, I knew the test
was just a formality. But
we did it for the sake of
the producers. The way he
read those lines, Alia was
also blown away. It didn’t
require convincing that
he’s Iqbal.
is not in the book. When
you devise other tools to
reach the end, it feels good.
That’s special to me.
REPORTEDLY, ALIA SAID
THAT SEHMAT’S CHARACTER
IS A LOT LIKE YOU IN REAL
LIFE. AGREE?
I don’t believe I’m capable
of such supreme sacrifice
or selflessness. Raazi
is a logistic heavy film,
a period film shot on
outdoor locations. You
have to find solutions
without losing your
handle. You’ve got to
overcome obstacles
quickly and think on your
feet. Perhaps, Alia must
have compared me with
Sehmat in the way I dealt
with situations. Beyond
that, I’m nowhere near this
special lady.
HOW CONSUMING WAS
IT TO TRANSLATE SEHMAT,
A REAL LIFE CHARACTER IN
A BOOK, TO A FILM?
I stay close to the writing
process. You visualise
many things in your mind.
And when your actors ask
you a question, you come
up with the best possible
adjectives and explain
what you want. The actor
then takes it from there
and runs with it. The final
interpretation is that of the
actor. This happens when
the director and actor are
in complete sync. If there
was an expression, which
I had not okayed... even
before I could ask Alia to
do it differently, she would
pick it. Our relationship
evolved through the
film. There was an
understanding, which
made this possible. It
was with all the actors,
not just Alia. Vicky
Kaushal had so little to say
through dialogue but he
conveyed so much through
his silences.
BRINGING IN A FRESH PAIR
LIKE ALIA AND VICKY, WAS
THERE ANY HESITATION?
I approach my casting
keeping in mind the
Raazi
I APPROACH
MY CASTING
KEEPING IN
MIND THE
PHYSICALITY
OF THE
ACTORS.
SO, VICKY
(KAUSHAL)
SCORED
FIRST ON
THAT COUNT.
I NEEDED A
SENSITIVITY
IN SPITE OF
HIM BEING AN
ARMY MAN
physicality of the actors.
So, Vicky scored first on
that count. I needed an
evolved performance and
a sensitivity in spite of
him being an army man.
He does things he’s meant
to do for his country but
gently. I asked Karan Johar
to give Vicky a call and set
up a meeting for us. I made
him do two scenes. One
HOW DID ALIA TRAIN TO
GET THE DIALECT RIGHT?
Alia needed to speak
differently because we
were showing the 1970s.
I gave Alia a list of films to
watch. I asked her to work
on her diction and the
speed at which she needed
to talk. She watched half
of one film and there was
60 per cent improvement
in our next reading. That’s
how quick she is on the
uptake. Pakistani plays
also helped us understand
their leheja (tonality), their
walk, what their homes
look like...
WHAT CAME AS AN
UNFORESEEN CHALLENGE
DURING SHOOTING?
Our pre production was
rock solid. The only thing
that we weren’t prepared
for was the Baba Ram
Rahim’s arrest and the
four-day curfew in Punjab.
We didn’t know whether
it would last four days or
15 days. That uncertainity
was frightening. We had
tickets booked for 120
people to fly to Srinagar.
That couldn’t change. So
no matter what we lost, we
had to fly to Srinagar on
that particular day. When
the curfew was finally
lifted, making up for those
four days was a Herculean
task. The unit gave up