Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; April 10, 2018)

At 7.45 am today, the much awaited trailer of Junglee Pictures and Dharma Productions’ Raazi, directed by Meghna Gulzar, will be live for the audience to see. The film, which will open in cinemas on May 11, is an adaptation of Harinder Sikka’s novel, Calling Sehmat, and stars Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal in pivotal roles. Excited about the trailer launch, Alia spoke to us about the cinematic and emotional journey of playing Sehmat, an innocent Kashmiri girl who makes the transition to spying for her country after being married off into a Pakistani officer’s family.

What went into the preparation for Raazi, given that your character transitions from being a student and a dutiful daughter to an Indian spy in Pakistan, who puts everything, including her relationships, at stake for the sake of her nation?
For me, the best part is that this character is not a Lara Croft. She’s a young, naive girl, who decides to risk her life for her country. This was the most beautiful aspect, because I didn’t have to enact anything. Being brave doesn’t mean that you don’t get scared. The sequences were overwhelming, but I wasn’t afraid of holding on and going all the way. A lot of technical preparation went into playing Sehmat. I had to improve my Urdu and then unlearn what I had picked up, because I play a Kashmiri and I wasn’t required to speak chaste Urdu or Hindi. I even learnt the Morse Code by heart. It was something Meghna believed that I should do authentically, and I feel that it helped me get perfectly into the character. One could have argued that kisi ko kya pata chalega, but we had to be as authentic as possible. I also learnt how to drive a Jonga (a kind of jeep used by the armed forces). Emotionally, one would have never been able to prepare for the journey I set out on, because once we started shooting, it was relentless. We’ve shot nine scenes a day, and that’s something I have never done before. It was a lot of work without a minute to waste or think about anything else. It’s a blessing for an actor, because you just have to be in character all the time, without any distraction.

The trailer shows you playing a daughter, a wife and a spy. Which of these roles was the toughest to pull off convincingly?
The guilt that Sehmat feels as a wife was the toughest to portray. There were these points in the script where Meghna wrote, ‘Sehmat gives a knowing look’. I used to wonder what it means. We used to giggle about it, but when she explained it to me, I realised what she meant. Sehmat is around so many people, and she’s seeing and hearing so many things. She cleverly camouflages her true feelings with fake reactions that will go well with the people around her at that point. I wondered how I would give ‘that look’. Portraying a spy in the garb of a wife was difficult.

What was your reaction when Meghna narrated the story of Raazi for the first time?
It wasn’t a very formal discussion, and when I first met Meghna, Raazi was just an idea. I hadn’t read the book back then. I have never expressed interest in doing a film on the basis of a single-line narration. She returned to me with the film 18 months later, with Junglee Pictures on board. Coincidentally, by then, the film was also being backed by what I consider my home, Dharma Productions. It felt nice because this was going to be a beautiful collaboration with Vineet Jain (MD, Times Group), Priti Shahani, Dharma, Meghna and I. We set out with a vision to narrate a gritty, true story which everyone can relate to.

This film is set in 1971. How relevant is it as a story today, given how India-Pakistan relations have moved (or haven’t) since then?
The fact that it’s a true story will make it relevant whenever it’s told. I also believe that whatever time you choose to tell a good story, it will have the same impact. Whether it’s told today, or it was told in 1971, or even 10 years from now, a story like this will still find its way into people’s hearts. It’s important for people to know what happened. It will stir them emotionally. The trailer, and eventually the film, will be relevant in every country across the world. Everyone feels the same for their motherland. It doesn’t matter which nation you belong to, you will still love your country the way Sehmat loved hers, and I love mine. It’s like the love you feel for a person, which means the same to everyone all over the world. I wish everyone, all over the subcontinent and the world, watches the trailer and the film, because I think everyone will relate with the core emotion in Raazi.

In a career spanning six years, your choice of films has been diverse and interesting. Raazi joins the ranks of your brave and unconventional choices...
Yeah, I have run risks, but if I don’t do that now, when will I do it? I don’t want to live with ‘I could have’ and ‘Maybe I should have’ kind of thoughts. I don’t believe in weighing a film’s box office prospects before giving it my nod. If my instinct says that I should do it, I go ahead. Like I really wanted to be a part of Sehmat’s world because I’ve never narrated a true story. Of course, we all want to do films that do well, but I also have to live my life truly as an actor and for that, I have to pick different characters. In that sense, I am selfish.

What is it that you look for in films that are offered to you?
I have to surprise or challenge myself with the films I do. I know that it won’t happen every time, but I think I am attracted to that little fear, ‘Will I be able to do this?’ That forms the basis of my hunt for roles. Fortunately, that instinct hasn’t failed me on too many occasions and it feels great that whenever I have taken a risk, it has paid off.

What has been your learning while playing a layered character like Sehmat?
I learnt about the sheer selflessness of people and the willingness with which they would give up everything for their nation. Look at Sehmat in the trailer. Someone once said to me that there is no such thing as a selfless deed, but I don’t think that is true, especially in this case. I don’t think I could have played a more selfless character than Sehmat. A parent putting a child’s interest before his or hers is a great deal, but to put your country’s interest before everything else is even greater. The line in the trailer, ‘Watan ke aage kuch nahi, khud bhi nahi’ encapsulates a sentiment, which is difficult to emulate on screen.

Have you read Harinder Sikka’s book?
It’s an extensive book because it also talks about Sehmat’s parents, Teji and Hidayat, in great detail. So, I just read the portions, which formed the crux of our film.

Do you seek your parents’ advice while choosing films and working on them?
While working on a film, my director becomes my mother, father, boyfriend and friend. It wasn’t any different on Raazi. Meghna was everything for me and we had an unspoken understanding. We had really cracked something, which was so perfect.

Have your parents seen the trailer?
Yes, my parents have been very involved with Raazi. My mother (Soni Razdan) has even acted in the film. They’ve both seen the trailer. The first time my dad (Mahesh Bhatt) saw the trailer, he was sitting a little away from our dining area and watching it intently on his laptop. Suddenly, we heard a whistle. That’s how we knew he’s liked it. Though my mother has acted in the film, she had tears in her eyes when she saw the trailer. She said, ‘It’s very moving and gritty.’

Raazi, presented by Junglee Pictures and Dharma Productions, and produced by Vineet Jain, Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva Mehta, releases on May 11, 2018.