Raazi

<p>Preceding the , Hidayat Khan is an posing as an for the military. Presenting as an Indian trading secrets to Pakistan, he cultivates a friendship with Parvez Syed of the and is alerted of an operation planned against India. Fearing he will not live long enough to uncover further details due to his , he asks his 20-year-old daughter Sehmat, a student at , to become an undercover agent of the , India’s agency, in Pakistan through an arranged marriage with Syed’s younger son, Iqbal, a Pakistani military officer. Sehmat joins the RAW and is trained by senior RAW officer Khalid Mir and his assistant, Nikhil Bakshi. Despite her youth and inexperience, Sehmat is a quick study, surprising her superiors with her acumen for intelligence work. After her marriage, she moves to their home with Iqbal in , the Pakistan Army’s headquarters. Sehmat wins the trust of the entire family except Abdul, Syed’s trusted servant. A kind man, Iqbal is patient with Sehmat, frequently apologising to her for his father’s denigration of India. Feelings develop between them leading to consummation of their marriage, and they start falling in love. Despite her feelings, Sehmat remains true to her mission and establishes communication channels with her back in , relaying information. Brigadier Syed is promoted to , resulting in crucial documents and members of their defense forces passing through his house. Sehmat relays information on the planning of an offensive against India, which points to a planned attack by a Pakistani submarine on the Indian aircraft carrier , then deployed in the . Abdul discovers Sehmat’s communication tools in her bathroom and realises she is an Indian spy. He rushes off to tell Syed, forcing Sehmat to run him down with an army jeep, causing a heavy emotional toll on her. Abdul tries to reveal Sehmat’s name in the hospital before he dies, and Iqbal’s older brother, Mehboob, starts an investigation. Before he can provide his information to the , Pakistan’s internal security agency, Sehmat reluctantly kills him by injecting him with poison. Realising her cover is about to be blown, Mir visits her in disguise and conveys to her an escape plan from Pakistan. Later, Iqbal finds the communication tools concealed in Abdul’s room alongside a piece of an anklet he had given Sehmat as a wedding gift, discovering her secret. Heartbroken, he confronts Sehmat, who tearfully holds him at gunpoint and tells him her duty is to her country. Before their confrontation can escalate, Mehboob’s young son, whom Sehmat had been tutoring to sing a patriotic song for his school’s annual Army Day celebration, rushes in, giving her a chance to get away. Realising her duty requires her to kill both the boy and her driver to prevent them from discovering her identity, she walks away and arrives at the meeting point concealed in a . Iqbal confronts her there, having notified the ISI, but when Mir spots them, he orders his undercover RAW team to shoot Sehmat and throws a grenade, killing both Sehmat and Iqbal. Mir and his team escape to a safe house, where the real Sehmat shows up, revealing the woman who died in the blast with Iqbal was another secret agent she had switched places with before Iqbal caught up to her. Traumatised by her husband’s death and Mir’s orders to kill her, Sehmat returns with the RAW team to her hometown. She faints shortly after arriving and later discovers she is pregnant, deciding to keep Iqbal’s child. Newsreel footage reveals the Indian Navy was able to the Pakistani submarine before it could carry out its planned attack on the with the assistance of Sehmat’s findings. In the present-day, officer Lieutenant General Nikhil Bakshi addresses a group of officers and soldiers of tri-services and also cadets of , including officer Samar Syed, aboard the Indian aircraft carrier , off the coast of . Colonel Samar Syed is revealed to be Iqbal and Sehmat’s son. Sehmat Khan’s sacrifices are remembered. The movie ends with a bungalow shown in an unknown location where a now-elderly Sehmat is living under security but alone. Since 2014, Priti Sahani, president of Junglee Pictures, was trying to acquire the film rights to Harinder S. Sikka’s 2008 novel , which details the true story of an Indian woman secret agent married to a Pakistani army officer to provide the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) with confidential information prior to the . During the production of (2015), she got in touch with Meghna Gulzar and enquired if she was interested in directing a film adaptation of the novel. Meghna agreed but was informed a few months later that the film didn’t materialize. In February 2016, she was approached by another producer to adapt the same novel, and she agreed again, thinking it was “a tad serendipitous” to be offered the same project twice. When talks on that proposal also fell through, Meghna decided she had “a karmic connection” with given that Sikka had approached her father to direct the film adaptation when the novel was released; she had developed a rapport with Sikka during previous meetings while discussing the production and told the author that they approach Sahani again for the film adaptation. The talks were successful, and in December 2016, Meghna announced the project as her next film. Meghna was drawn to the story as it was “an ordinary girl’s extraordinary feat” and was “not chest-thumpingly anti-Pak, pro-India, pro-war sloganeering”, and it being a true account “makes [the film] that much more powerful”. She tried to remain as true to the story as possible during production. Even though the film was set in the backdrop of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, it didn’t feature action scenes unlike other films under the same backdrop since the story leads to the beginning of the war and not the actual conflict. Meghna had heard stories of the war from her family members, having been born after the war was over. She felt it was “an important milestone in [Indian] history” and was motivated to make the film as the story is important in present times when neighboring countries have non-cordial relationships. Meghna said: “The human element makes it timeless. From my father’s friends in Pakistan, I understand that the lines are on paper and brought up politically but at the end of the day, we’re similar in our clothes, cuisine, and culture.” In December 2016, it was being speculated that Alia Bhatt had been offered the lead role in the film, a news which was confirmed to be true in April 2017. ‘s production house came on board to co-produce the film along with in April 2017. The casting of Vicky Kaushal was officially announced in June 2017. The filming process of began in July 2017 and the first schedule which took place in was wrapped up by mid-August 2017. Originally, the first schedule of was supposed to be held in but due to the state of unrest in the valley, the makers decided to shift the shooting location to Mumbai where all the indoor scenes were filmed at a set created inside . The second schedule of the film took place in , where filming was done in and during August and September 2017. The shooting in Patiala was stalled for a few days due to the violence that erupted after the conviction of chief on 25 August 2017 and the curfew that was imposed as a consequence of which. After completing the Punjab schedule, the production team of arrived in on 17 September 2017 for a ten-day schedule where filming was done at , Shiv Pora in and in district. The final schedule of shooting was supposed to take place in Punjab, but was completed in instead due to the unrest caused by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s arrest. Filming came to an end on 27 October 2017. Costumes for the film were designed by . Amidst a heated atmosphere of public anger and discussion during July 2020, Sikka alleged that Meghna changed the title of the film without his permission and he was not shown the director’s cut of the film which was part of the contract. He also alleged that Gulzar and her father took a pro-Pakistani stand in the film, and that producers Jain and Johar attempted to discredit him. The author also claimed that Meghna Gulzar “tweaked” the story to demean and praised the . The music and background score for the film was composed by while the lyrics were written by . The songs featured in the film are sung by , , Vibha Saraf, and . The song “Ae Watan” also contains the lyrics of ‘s ” “, the national prayer of Pakistan. The soundtrack was officially released on 19 April 2018 by . The first poster of was released on 9 April 2018 through the official handle of the film, while the trailer of the film was launched on 10 April 2018. The film was released on 11 May 2018. received universal critical acclaim. On the website , of 11 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.9/10. of termed the film as a heart-stopping, heartbreaking espionage drama and gave it 4.5 stars out of 5. rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, stating that ” rewrites the spy-thriller genre with emotions, instead of explosions.” Rohit Vats of praised Alia Bhatt’s performance and gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5 saying that, ” is a sensibly written and finely performed film that takes a close look at the ordinary lives of extraordinary people. Not to miss.” Shalini Langer of praised director Meghna Gulzar for not allowing to become a “chest-thumping spectacle of jingoism” and gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5 saying that, “at a time when hate and anger are the currency of the subcontinent, a film like needs to be made.” Meena Iyer of gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5, saying that, “Alia Bhatt-Vicky Kaushal starrer will blow your mind!” Sukanya Verma of appreciated the acting performances of the film, its music composed by , cinematography as well as editing, and gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5 saying that, ” is a rarity. It is intense, riveting, clever, dark, sad, lyrical, heartfelt, relevant and understated.” of gave the film a rating of 3.5, calling Bhatt the “beating heart of “, and stated, “The film is admirable also because it’s a measured, mostly intelligent thriller that asks us to consider concepts of patriotism and honor without spoon-feeding us with manipulative background music or provocative dialogue.” gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5, saying that, ” is an interesting thriller brilliantly narrated by Meghna Gulzar that makes for mature viewing. It is a film that celebrates nationalism that is devoid of the colors of religion.” Suhani Singh from gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars stating “Alia Bhatt steals the show in Meghna Gulzar’s spy thriller”. In a negative review, Kennith Rosario of commented, “There’s a lot going for yet there’s a nagging lack of novelty – whether it is the film’s plot, message or Bhatt’s ability to cry.” Raja Sen of gave the film a rating of 3 out of 5 saying that, “There is a lot to like in Meghna Gulzar’s spy movie, but Alia Bhatt makes it hard to take seriously.” Nandini Ramnath of said that, “Alia Bhatt shines in a muddled and improbable spy thriller.” emerged as the Hindi film of 2018. It became the second film driven by a female lead to gross more than 100 crore nett in India, after . The film grossed more than 158 crore in India, emerging as the highest-grossing film for Alia Bhatt, surpassing . has grossed a total of (US$24 million) worldwide.</p>