Zindagi Gulzar Hai

Meghna Gulzar Is Enjoying Thefirst 100-crore Hit Of Her Career. Analita Seth Meets The Heart And Art Behind Raazi.

- Analita Seth

Meghna Gulzar’s penchant for complex emotions and nuanced narratives was noticed way back in Filhaal in 2002. Talvar, in 2015, was her moment of epiphany when she gently changed perception about the 2008 Noida double murder case. Yet again, she stepped on the firing line with Raazi, based on Harinder Sikka’s book Calling Sehmat. The story of a Kashmiri Muslim woman, who married a Pakistani army officer to spy for her country, may have earned patriotic patronage and 100 crores plus at the box-office. But Meghna’s triumph lies beyond that. It lies in her ability to dwell on the vulnerability in valour, the human ravage of war and those stories of heroism that do not make way into history books. Above all, her triumph lies in commemorating Sehmat, a heartbroken woman, who died years before her final rites...

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE AMAZING RECEPTION RAAZI HAS RECEIVED?

When people you look up to as filmmakers, praise your work, it’s precious. Like Rajkumar Hirani sir did. I was moved because I look up to him. It’s heartening when you read tweets about people giving a standing ovation to the film. Pakistanis, who have seen the film, well... their scepticism seems to have faded. This is the response you wish for a film like this, particularly in the times we live in. There’s gratitude and relief.

WAS IT DIFFICULT TO ADAPT SUCH A POLITICALLY SENSITIVE STORY?

When you’re aware of what could foster divisiveness, you avoid it while writing or directing it. Also, your own sensibility is not the kind to rake up controversy rather just to tell a story.

WHAT WAS THE ONE MOMENT IN HARINDER SIKKA’S NOVEL SEHMAT CALLING THAT URGED YOU TO MAKE RAAZI?