The much awaited trailer of Junglee Pictures and Dharma Productions’ Raazi, directed by Meghna Gulzar, is out. Raazi is an adaptation of Harinder Sikka’s novel, Calling Sehmat, and stars Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal in pivotal roles.
Alia Bhatt’s character in Raazi is a young, Naive girl who decides to risk her life for her country. When asked Alia about her preparation she says that it was the most beautiful aspect as she didn’t have to enact anything. A lot of technical preparation went into playing Sehmat.
Alia had to improve her Urdu and then unlearn what she had picked up, because she plays a Kashmiri and she wasn’t required to speak chaste Urdu or Hindi. She 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 she set out on, because once they started shooting, it was relentless. They have shot nine scenes a day, and that’s something Alia have never done before.
When asked Alia about which one is the most difficult role to portray, as the trailer shows Alia playing a daughter, a wife and a spy.
Alia says that, “The guilt that Sehmat feels as a wife was the toughest to portray”.
What Alia has learnt from the character?
She has 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 her that there is no such thing as a selfless deed, but she doesn’t think that is true, especially in this case. I don’t think she 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.
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.
