Alia Bhatt’s Raazi is widely regarded as one of the standout performances of her career, but the film continues to face criticism from Harinder Singh Sikkaauthor of Calling Sehmat, the book that inspired the 2018 spy drama. In a recent interview, Sikka leveled fresh allegations against filmmaker Gulzar, director Meghna Gulzar and an individual whom he identifies as a representative of: Shah Rukh KhanFun with Red Chillies.Sikka admitted that his first meeting with Gulzar happened in 2016-17, where the veteran lyricist and filmmaker urged him to consider Meghna Gulzar for the project.“When I met Gulzar at his house, he told me, ‘My daughter has been unemployed for four years. People think that Talvar is made by Vishal Bhardwaj. So give her a job’. I said, ‘I will do it. This is a promise’,” he said in an interview with YouTube channel DesimartiniSikka added that he later discussed the matter with Vishal Bhardwaj, who, according to him, replied, “Vishal said, ‘I am like Gulzar’s son. That statement says it all.”According to Sikka, he agreed to share the film rights of Calling Sehmat only on the condition that he would have a say in the selection of the director and the lead actors. He alleged that Junglee Pictures eventually accepted the terms, albeit reluctantly.“And that’s how Meghna Gulzar became the director of this project,” he said.Sikka even claimed that Meghna maintained a warm relationship with him throughout the making of the film, calling him “uncle.” However, he alleged that their equation changed when the filming ended.“I don’t want to call you uncle anymore. I don’t want to talk to you anymore,” she said he wrote to her after the film wrapped.The author also criticized the many creative liberties taken in the adaptation of his book, saying that the changes significantly changed the essence of the original story.“As per the book, when Sehmat returned, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) welcomed him with a red carpet and he saluted the tricolor. That was the real story. Meghna removes that and puts Sehmat back in a depressed state and they show it like a Kashmiri woman who is mistakenly fighting for India. There is no tricolor in the film but there are many flags of Pakistan,” he said and added, “They painted the Pakistan army soft and questioned IB.“Sikka also alleged that he contacted Gulzar after the release of Raazi in 2018 and accused him of delaying the publication of his book. He further claimed that Gulzar had influenced the organizers of the Jaipur Literature Festival not to invite him.“Gulzar called the Jaipur Literature Festival and told them that I will not be invited if I have already put in so much effort to make his daughter a director.”He also alleged that the title of the film was deliberately changed from Calling Sehmat to Raazi.“They changed the name of the film from Calling Sehmat to Raazi so that Sehmat doesn’t get as much importance as Meghna because they want to protect Meghna,” he said.In the same conversation, Sikka recalled an earlier incident he said took place in 2008, when an individual named Samar Khan, who allegedly identified himself as the director of Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment, approached him to acquire the rights to Calling Sehmat.According to Sikka, he quoted Rs 1.5 crore for the rights and insisted on retaining control over the selection of the director and cast. He admitted to rejecting the demands.“He got up and said, ‘We are giving Rs 5-7 lakh Chetan Bhagat. Who are you?’ I refused to sell him the book. He said, ‘We’ll do it anyway. Do what you want to do.”Sikka further alleged that after discussing the matter with a friend, Major Chibba, the dispute was resolved and he received a written apology from Samar Khan. However, he claimed that in a later meeting, Khan made a different comment.“In two weeks, I received a written apology from Samar Khan but when he met me in person, he said, ‘I will not allow you to work in Mumbai’.”Earlier this year, in March, Sikka described allowing Meghna Gulzar to direct Raazi as his “gross misjudgment.” Despite his repeated criticism of the film and its makers over the years, neither Meghna Gulzar nor Gulzar have publicly responded to his allegations.
