Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; July 26, 2020)

Harinder Sikka, author of the 2008 novel Calling Sehmat is miffed with director Meghna Gulzar (who helmed the 2018 film adaptation, Raazi) and her father, lyricist Gulzar. He claims that he had promised the lyricist to let his daughter direct Raazi, and that was his “biggest blunder”.

Unhappy with the film, Sikka says the director “intentionally” made blunders. “The first one was her pro-Pakistani approach. In the book, when Sehmat kills Abdul, there’s a dialogue, ‘I’m sorry Abdul, but I love my country more’. Meghna removed it,” he says. The second, adds Sikka, was, “Sehmat came back to India to a royal red carpet welcome, saluted the Tricolour while the military band played the National Anthem. Meghna, instead, brought her back in a depressed state...” Asked why didn’t he raise these points when the film released, he says he did try to speak up, “but after a few of my interviews, I received a death threat on social media”.

Sikka alleges the Gulzar family tried to sideline him from the film. “When she was signed for Raazi, she began changing colours. After shooting ended, she sent me a nasty WhatsApp message, cutting off all relations,” he recounts. Sikka also claims he was supposed to see the director’s cut. “She didn’t invite me nor informed me,” he adds. Even the film’s title was changed, he says, without his knowledge or approval. “Their plan to checkmate me, the outsider, was in place. I was removed from promotions related to Raazi. I should’ve learnt that this was the trait of someone who’d soon back-stab,” rues Sikka.

When we reached out to the director about the author’s accusations, she wasn’t available for a comment.

As he pens second part of Calling Sehmat that inspired Raazi, Sikka hints that Bhatt is keen to take the story ahead on the big screen
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; January 14, 2019)

Months after the phenomenal success of Alia Bhatt’s Raazi, Harinder Sikka — author of Calling Sehmat, the book that was adapted by director Meghna Gulzar for the big screen — reveals that he is working on the sequel, Remembering Sehmat.

While many may believe that the novel — that told the true story of a young Kashmiri girl who was sent as a spy to Pakistan in 1971 — doesn’t lend itself to a second part, the author insists the protagonist’s journey has enough fodder to warrant a sequel. “After I wrote Calling Sehmat in 2008, I spent another 10 years with her, on and off, depending on the little time she gave me. [The book will focus on] how she went into depression after the mission but fought her way out of it. It will reflect her personal journey since her return from Pakistan — how she never accepted her son as her own, and denounced public life. Dr Manmohan Singh offered her the Padma Shri, but she turned it down. The mysteries around her will be decoded in Remembering Sehmat. A portion will also include why she made me take two trips to Pakistan, during the decade that I knew her,” reveals Sikka.

Raazi made for a gripping big screen experience. It not only gave the audience an unlikely hero in the protagonist, but also gave Bhatt one of the most definitive films of her career. It’s not surprising then as Sikka says that he has discussed the sequel with her. “Multiple producers are interested to adapt the sequel into a movie. But as far as the casting goes, Sehmat herself had chosen Alia. I met Alia at the Ambani wedding, and did discuss this. She was definitely interested.”

The book, he reveals, is likely to be backed by Penguin and may hit the shelves later this year.

Meghna Gulzar and her lyricist father weigh in on the ethos behind her espionage thriller Raazi, and the creative collaboration between the old and the new guard
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 12, 2018)

Gulzar saab, from Filhaal (which was about surrogacy) to Talvar (the judiciary), and now Junglee Pictures and Dharma Productions’ Raazi, which weighs loyalty to family against loyalty to country, how do you, as a filmmaker, perceive Meghna’s journey?
Gulzar: She’s always been a brave girl who made her choices independently and we respected them because we trusted her strength. She was fond of singing and would paint with me, but opted for filmmaking and surprised me with her choices. When she told me Filhaal was about a surrogate mother, I didn’t understand what she meant, but knew she was in step with the times unlike our films where if a woman was unable to produce a son, ‘hum doosri le aate’. It was a brave step but she was convinced and convinced everyone else. Then, came Talvar, a comment on the judiciary. When your child is taking a step forward, it’s best to hold their hand and let them lead you into the future rather than hold them back.

Raazi is another step forward…
G: Yes, and the right step after Talvar. I don’t think any Indian film has treated Pakistani characters with so much dignity. I was born across the border and I know Raazi will bring forth friendly voices between the countries.

Meghna, did your papa’s stories of Pakistan help shape your characters?
Meghna: He never spoke of his days before the Partition, it’s an emotional scar he’s still trying to heal through his writing. He didn’t even visit Pakistan for the longest time because he didn’t want his memories to be diminished by the present.

G: But not a day has passed when I haven’t spoken to someone there.

M: And there was so much warmth in his interactions with those who came across as part of cultural exchanges and perhaps subliminally I imbibed that because. For me, a Pakistani was never the enemy or an alien. They are us and we are them, it’s geography and politics that divide us. As Kanwaljeet says in the film, “Jeet ka jashn manate hue yeh yaad rakhna ki humne kya khoya hai.” Every victory comes with a human collateral, whether it’s an Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Kashmiri.

G: It’s this that makes the film more than another thriller, takes it beyond borders.

You left Pakistan at age eight and returned after 70 years. How did it feel?
G: It was like moving from one room in my home to another that housed people like Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, a renowned poet in Pakistan and also my mentor. My own writing is published there, including a collection of all my poems. The volume is so huge and heavy that it was difficult to courier even 20-25 copies. So Hasan Zia, a poet himself, who’s like a son to me, took the books to Dubai from where they were dispatched through a friend who travelled to Delhi via Mumbai so he could bring the parcel across. As people, we are the same, bas ghar ke buzurgon ko taqleef hai isliye hum ghar ke bichhde hue sadasya ki tarah bade pyaar se kahin aur milte hain.

M: Yes, when we are in the US, UK or another part of South-Asia, borders cease to exist.

Did shooting in Kashmir enhance the theme of patriotism?
M: I don’t want to highlight this, but it was important to place the narrative in the Valley because today, for many, it’s difficult to say Kashmir and patriot in the same breath. But those who question, or express disbelief need to introspect historically on why people in the Valley feel this way. When we were there, the locals were very welcoming, but also almost apologetic when they asked, “You feel safe here, na? Aapko kisi baat ka dar to nahin?” I don’t think any citizen in any part of the country should be made to feel this way. On our part we were careful to respect the people and the place. If you go in an empowered, entitled way, there will be backlash.

Harinder Sikka had come to you first with his novel, Calling Sehmat. What were your thoughts about the story that Meghna adapted as Raazi?
G: I was committed to other projects then and the love story of Sehmat’s parents’ that he wanted to focus on, seemed juvenile.

M: There are four films in that novel and when I told papa I was adapting it, he couldn’t understand why I’d want to dabble in an action-thriller that had bombs going off. For me the core of the book was Sehmat’s journey and her time in Pakistan. When I sent the first half of the script, which ended with Sehmat realising Abdul is alive, to papa, he responded in less than two hours, saying, “Uff kahan laake chhod diya hai, baki kab bhejoge?” That was a real shot in the arm to me and my co-writer Bhavani Iyer. We immediately got started on cracking the second half.

G: I was stunned, she had found layers we didn’t see. That’s why I say this generation has made better cinema than mine.

Meghna, which is Gulzar saab’s bravest film according to you?
M: Maachis. Since he’s a Sikh himself, the insurgency and 1984 riots were scarring, yet papa made a film which said such strong things in his inimitable soft and objective style. He didn’t glorify the misled youth but simply underlined circumstances which made them feel alienated and take up arms.

Gulzar saab, Meghna has often said that she can’t think of going to any other lyricist for her songs…
G: How can she? Meghna, Shaad (Ali) and Vishal (Bhardwaj) are my children. They wouldn’t be able to bully anyone else the way they do me. Shaad used to ask me for pocket money when he was assisting Mani Ratnam and still gets me to change words like Meghna. Vishal wants the lingo of Meerut; his films are heavy on gaalis.

M: (Laughs) I don’t know how he’s managed it, but papa has written some of his raunchiest songs for Vishal’s films.

G: (Laughs) Yeh bachche badmashi bahut karte hain but they also challenge me.

Writing songs for a film like Raazi must have been difficult…
M: It was but I got all the songs in a day. “Aye watan” happened right here in this room during my first meeting while I was briefing Shankar (Mahadevan), Ehsaan (Noorani) and Loy (Mendonsa). Papa wanted the line incorporated, “Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua Ban Ke Tamanna Meri…”

G: It was a prayer we sang in school, by Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Pakistan’s poet, who also wrote “Sare Jahan Se Achcha”. Poetry and literature cannot be divided. It’s one India.

M: “Dilbaro” was written in the studio. The trio had composed a tune and as it played, papa started coming up with the words… “Ungli Pakad Ke Tune, Chalna Sikhaya Tha Na, Dehleez Oonchi Hai Yeh, Paar Kara De.”

G: In this case it was not threshold of the home, yahan sarhad paar karwana tha. This triumvirate is so creative they make your job easy no matter how big the challenge.

Meghna’s next is Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw biopic, another challenge.
G: Every generation walks its own path. And rather than teach, it’s better if we learn from this new generation of brilliant filmmakers.

M: Usually parents talk down to their kids but papa always said that even if you’re 40, when your child is five, you’re just a five-year-old father. And a child who is raised with this sense of equality, grows up to be a confident individual, secure in his own world and the world beyond.

Harinder Sikka, whose book Calling Sehmat inspired Raazi, looks back at decade- long journey of the script that travelled from SRK to Akki and finally, Alia Bhatt
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; May 2, 2018)

A quick Google search will tell you that Calling Sehmat, the source material of Alia Bhatt starrer Raazi, is available for pre-order now. The book was taken off shelves a few years after it released in 2008, at the behest of writer Harinder Sikka, who felt that his story was meant for a big screen experience.

"I bought the rights back from the publisher and reworked the narrative and grammar. Now, the book is being republished by Penguin," says Sikka of his creation, that took him eight years and two trips to Pakistan. "This was no easy feat. I could have been in jail had I been caught. This is a story that must be told. Kashmiris aren't terrorists as how the world perceives them because of a few misguided people. They are loving and warm; the kind who will go hungry to ensure there's food on your plate," he points out.

The book's genesis can be traced back to 1999 when he was covering the Kargil war as an embedded journalist and heard about Sehmat. His story, inspired by the bravado of a young Kashmiri girl who was sent as a spy to Pakistan, caught the fancy of many a filmmaker. Sikka recalls how Shah Rukh Khan's company was the first production house to show interest. "In 2009, Samar Khan [filmmaker] came to seek the rights for a movie adaptation. It was for Red Chillies Entertainment. I didn't know it was SRK's company. But Samar objected to my demand of Rs 2 crore for the rights. He also wanted to change the storyline, which I wasn't okay with. It was then that Samar made a distasteful statement -- 'In Bollywood, we can always make a film and give you a credit in the end.' I was so hurt that I wrote a letter to SRK and he was gracious enough to ensure that Samar Khan sent an apology within 10 days."

Sikka, who has produced Nanak Shah Fakir, then found a pillar of support in Akshay Kumar. "I met Akshay Kumar during the screenings of Nanak Shah Fakir and wanted to rope him [as a producer]. It was he who invited Meghna Gulzar for a meeting about this book at his home. Instinctively, I knew that I had found my film's director." Call it a twist of fate but Sikka's first choice for director was Gulzar, who had turned the offer down in 2010, saying he was devotedly working on children's stories. Though Kumar couldn't be part of the film, Sikka maintains that he has been "a constant emotional support".

Akshay and he couldn't work out the film because NSF's release pushed Sikka into bankruptcy. "I did not want Akshay's money, though he was more than gracious. Akshay had to give his dates to another film but remained a constant support for me emotionally. After Akshay pulled out, Priti Shahani (Jungle Pictures) called me to tell that she was tracking the book."

Initially, it was a rough ride with producers Junglee Pictures, where Sikka even considered pulling out of the movie. "They weren't happy with the conditions I was putting. They felt that the money I was quoting was exorbitant. Little did they know that I had promised whatever money I make from the book and the movie, will go for charity. The book was too strong and the story too good to be missed out. I was clear that Alia Bhatt had to play the lead and Meghna would be the director. At one point, Gulzar saab told me it was time I let go of the material. But eventually, the producers kept each of these promises." Sikka adds that he donated his fee towards charity.

Ask him why he was adamant about Bhatt and he says it was Sehmat's suggestion -- one that he would've honoured at any cost. "Sehmat's way of saying yes or no was through silence. When I suggested that Alia play her, she said a silent yes. She wanted Alia to play her," says Sikka, adding, " Meghna made me meet Alia at Dharma's office in Mumbai. Only I could have told her what Sehmat was all about. It was a long delightful meeting. To her credit, Alia is sharp and caught everything. It's a life-changing role and she delved into it without qualms. I saw that my book was being respected. When the film was nearly done, Alia Bhatt asked me if she had lived up to my expectation of Sehmat's part."

Finally, question him on Sehmat's whereabouts and Sikka says, "Like an angel, she went to sleep one day and didn't wake up. She was gone. She had visited Film City where the film was being shot. I was keen that she meet Alia and Meghna, but she didn't let me tell them that she was waiting outside the set. She'll live through Alia and Meghna for years to come."

Meghna Gulzar on her Raazi heroine who lends vulnerability to even hard-hitting characters, her prep to play a spy in the Junglee Pictures-Dharma Productions film
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 16, 2018)

How tricky was it to portray a protagonist from the Valley who’s also a patriot?
There is a history there and an explanation. But as far as Raazi goes, it is important to keep the time period in perspective. The story unfolds in 1971, before insurgency and fundamental forces took root in the Valley. Yes, it may be unfamiliar today to see a patriot who is a Kashmiri-Muslim but I have visited the Valley three times in the last year for recce and the shoot and then went back with my family for a vacation in December. From my interactions with the locals, I can reiterate that the ordinary Kashmiri is genuine and completely affiliated to India. They have just become helpless pawns because nobody is interested in resolving their problems. They are always defensive, constantly asking you, “I hope you are okay? Aapko kuch galat to nahin lagta yahan?” It’s so unfair!

Many filmmakers who went to the Valley to shoot have had to grapple with disruptions and some even returned without completing the schedule. One hasn’t heard any complaints from the Raazi unit…
That’s because there were none, from us or the locals. Last February, we were shooting on a long road holding up the traffic and no one protested. Then, we took over a park stopping school kids from playing around while on a school picnic. They simply sat there quietly, watching us. When the vintage car’s door wouldn’t open or shut during a take, they would burst out laughing. It was like performing a play for a live audience.

They don’t have a film industry there, so when we needed junior artistes, the location manager would call family and friends over. They didn’t need to help us but they did. Kashmiriyat is still alive in the Valley.

Harvinder Sikka’s book, Calling Sehmat, on which the film is based, got away from you twice, before Junglee Pictures finally picked up the film rights. Tell us about your interactions with the author who had initially approached your father, Gulzar saab, to take Sehmat’s story to the screen?
Mr Sikka revers this lady whom he calls Sehmat having met and interacted with her. He was very cautious whom he entrusted his book to. We shared our script with him and while he had a few inputs and some differences of opinion with the way we had adapted his story, he eventually told me it was my call and he trusted me with the sanctity of the contents.

You’ve said you wouldn’t have made the film had Alia Bhatt not agreed to play the lead. Why did she feel so right?
Even before Bhavani Iyer (who wrote the screenplay with Meghna) and I had put a word on paper, I knew that a performance was needed to take Sehmat’s journey forward on screen. Also, the way I see her, she doesn’t suddenly turn into this indestructible superhero on a mission. There’s a vulnerability inherent in her character which she retains till the end and I’ve noticed that no matter how hard-hitting the characters she plays, there is a certain softness to Alia, physically and emotionally, that I was looking for.

Did she get stuck with any scene?
None. Once she connected with the character, she was consumed by her. Alia worked really hard on her prep — she took language sessions, learnt the Morse code and other training. By the time we sat for the readings, she knew all her lines and was even asking what I meant by underlined script cues like ‘gives a knowing look’, wanting me to explain what I meant by the ‘knowing look’.

Did Gulzar saab contribute with suggestions having lived on the other side of the border?
My father was born in what is Pakistan now, but after the Partition, the family moved to Delhi and by 1971 he was living in Mumbai and making films here. I don’t share my script with him till I have finished writing but I do go to my father for lyrics. For my songs, I don’t need to go to anyone else.

While on journeys, what has yours been like, from Filhaal to Raazi?
I have become a lot more patient now. I don’t know if it has to do with age, motherhood or my 18-year experience as a filmmaker, perhaps all three. Shooting is all about people management and I am getting better at that. All my five films — Filhaal, Just Married, Dus Kahaniyan, Talvar and now Raazi — have been very different and with Talvar, I discovered that I execute the darker side better than the soft, sensitive one.

Talking about the Talwars, Rajesh and Nupur’s ordeal isn’t over yet.
As the film showed, there can’t be a re-investigation as there is no new evidence to introduce. There can only be fresh arguments and how the information presented is processed, will depend on the mind-set of those trying the case. We have already had two different verdicts and though painful, the process of law will have to be followed right up to the highest court of the land.

Your next two films are bigger challenges, a biopic on Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw and the real story of Laxmi Agarwal, an acid attack survivor.
(Laughs) I like making life tough for myself. Honestly, some of the current generation don’t even know who Field Marshal Manekshaw was. And in her own way, Laxmi too is a role model with a story that’s scary, horrifying and inspiring. I want to share these stories with the world but first I need a break after Raazi’s release. I’ve worked non-stop for 11 months. But even on a break I know the mind won’t sleep.

Padmaavat Round 2? The Supreme Court clears the film on Guru Nanak, which was stuck since 2015 due to objections by Sikh bodies; says ‘private people’ can’t curtail freedom of expression
Jaspreet Nijher (BOMBAY TIMES; April 11, 2018)

The fate of Nanak Shah Fakir, which is based on the life and work of Guru Nanak, has been in limbo since 2015. The film, which has been ‘approved’ and later ‘banned’ by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the Akal Takht, was cleared for release by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, with the Court stating that the CBFC’s nod was “final” and that “the freedom of expression of an artiste can’t be curtailed by a group of private people”. The film will now be released on Friday as planned — unless it runs into fresh legal or administrative roadblocks.

The movie was initially released in April 2015, and, according to reports, both the SGPC and the Akal Takht had given their nod to it at that point of time. The film’s producer Harinder Sikka had said that the Akal Takht Jathedar, Gurbachan Singh, had called the film “a fine example of the promotion of Sikh faith”.

However, four days after its release, the film was withdrawn by Sikka following protests and opposition by both the bodies. Gurbachan Singh denied approving the film, and said that he had only appreciated the project before the movie was made. The SGPC subsequently formed an eight-member sub-committee to ‘review’ the movie.

In 2016, the SGPC finally ‘approved’ the film for release, and said, “We have no objection in granting you permission to release the movie Nanak Shah Fakir.” Last month, the SGPC even sent letters asking the film to be shown in schools and to facilitate the promotion of the movie. On March 28, it issued a statement backing the film.

However, after protests from some members of the Sikh community, the committee withdrew its support the very next day, saying that it would now not allow the film’s release. The Akal Takht soon followed suit and ‘banned’ the film, after which Sikka moved the Supreme Court.

Speaking to us after the court cleared the film for release on Tuesday, Sikka said, “The Supreme Court has made it clear that individuals cannot decide the fate of films. It is the CBFC that makes the decision, and even state governments cannot interfere in its release. The film will be released, but it is up to the distributors to decide how to do it.” Commenting on the flip-flop, Sikka said, “I don’t know why the SGPC or the Akal Takht have withdrawn their approval, despite clearing the film at every stage in 2016. As recent as March 22 this year, the whole of SGPC was on stage in Mumbai for the film’s poster launch by Akshay Kumar. Their collective decision was in favour of the film. What happened at the individual level, I don’t know. Akal Takht and SGPC are institutions which should not be seen as changing their stance last minute. I have worked with them closely at every stage for one year, and to show the Guru as a light form was their decision too. As for portraying his family as humans, only the Guru was godly, not his family.”

Manjit Singh, Secretary, SGPC, disowns earlier validations and asserts, “There is much talk about the Akal Takht Jathedar Gurbachan Singh issuing an appreciation letter to the film in 2015. However, no one really knows that the actual appreciation in that letter was for the producer and not the film.” On his part, Gurbachan Singh says, “There was never a clearance for the film in its present state. The objections we had against the film back then, about giving a human representation to the family of Guru Nanak, remain. Ordinary actors cannot portray the Guru’s family members.” As for the SGPC having ‘cleared’ the film in 2016 after a sub-committee was formed to review it, Gurbachan Singh says, “Then ask those who cleared it at that time, and those who were helming the SGPC then. We never cleared the film.”

Whether they ‘cleared’ the film or not is irrelevant, as per the SC order. Coming on the heels of the Padmaavat controversy, which was a similar case of religious bodies opposing a film despite it being cleared by the CBFC, the ‘ban’ highlights the unofficial censorship filmmakers are facing. In Padmaavat’s context, the SC had stated that maintaining law and order and ensuring a smooth release was the state’s responsibility. In this case too, the SC has declared that no private bodies can ‘ban’ a film and that the mandate rests with the CBFC or a superior authority.

Whether that actually gets the film to hit theatres this Friday remains to be seen.

Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; March 21, 2018)

Three years after the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) called for a ban on Nanak Shah Fakir a week after its release, the film is set to hit the screens again. Revolving around Guru Nanak’s journey across the globe, the project will be supported by Akshay Kumar.

In 2015, Nanak Shah Fakir producer, Harinder Sikka, had a tough time procuring the green light from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). After the movie hit screens, the SGPC protested against it and demanded major alterations, forcing the makers to pull the film out from the theatres in a week.

Kumar cheered for the project when it bagged three National Awards in 2016, encouraging Sikka to rope him in as the goodwill ambassador for the movie. The actor will take a break from the ongoing schedule of his next, Kesari, to unveil the new trailer of Nanak Shah Fakir in the city this Friday.

When contacted, Sikka said, “It is kind of Akshay to support our film and launch its trailer. His help means a lot to us. Our movie spreads the message of love and goodness. It follows Guru Nanak Devji’s journey across the globe, spreading the message of Ik Onkar, equality of all religions, castes and genders.”

Delhi HC revokes the ban on the film
Mohar Basu (BOMBAY TIMES; June 8, 2015)

Ankita Bhatkhande & Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 18, 2015)

Mohar Basu (BOMBAY TIMES; April 7, 2015)

Sartaj Singh Pannu has taken the producers of an upcoming film, including the sound artist, to court
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 27, 2015)

Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 2, 2014)

One of India’s most distinguished sound designers, Resul Pookutty, is turning producer. The as yet untitled film is based on Guru Nanak but since Sikhism doesn’t permit anyone to don Nanak’s garb, computer graphics will be used to depict him. AR Rahman who worked with Resul in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire which bagged both of them Oscars, will supervise the music. A source told Mirror, “Rahman is a good friend of Resul’s and is looking into every song, but he normally doesn’t like to share credit so he may not figure in the end titles with Finnish composer Tuomas Kantelinen, the film’s official music director.” Tuomas is best known for his scores in films like The Legend of Hercules, Mindhunters and Mongol. He has composed for an opera, scored chamber music and given the music for TV shows and jingles. Harinder Sikka will direct the film and theatre actor Harish Khanna plays the title role. Resul has been quietly setting the stage for his debut production since 2012. Talking to Mirror he said, “Two years ago, Harinder had a dream that he should make a film on Guru Nanak. It all started from there.” The film, co-produced by Samar Sikka, will roll sometime this year.