RAAZI: A Daughter, A Wife, A Spy
There is something interesting about the way Alia Bhatt displays herself onscreen through her acting skills. Starting from playing a school girl in Student Of The Year to playing a spy in Raazi. The film starts with her childlike innocence to working as a spy for Indian against Pakistan. Alia’s portrayal of a young girl who’s battling with the world alone is dreadful.
“Raazi” potrays Alia Bhatt as the female protagonist who is just an innocent 20 years studying in Delhi University playing with squirrels in the college campus, petrified with blood and injections. She had a tremendous talent of mugging up numbers and codes within seconds.
Sehmat’s(Alia Bhatt) life completely revolved when she was given the duty of taking her father’s place. Hiyadat(Rajit Kapur), a Kashmiri elderly man who often used to travel to Pakistan for business dealings. He supplies his brigadier friend (Shishir Sharma) who was a top official of Pakistani Army, with secret information about India thus winning his trust. But actually he (Kapur) was doing the opposite and was passing information to India about the secret activities of Pakistan. But his short lifespan forced him to sacrifice his daughter and take his place. He (Kapur) knew that Parvez Syed (Shishir Kumar) trusts him and his friendship so making the friendly bond as a staircase and weapon, Hiyadat fixed the marriage of his daughter with Parvez Syed’s younger son Iqbal Khan (Vicky Kaushal).
Hiyadat himself was a son of a freedom-fighter who also maintained his lineage of being an Indian Spy working for Indian Intelligence Bureau. Sehmat was given the responsibility to take his place and was asked by her father to be the “ ankh and kaan” of India by staying in Pakistan. Alia was a newcomer as a spy agent and so she was given a month’s training about sharing of information through transmission , the code languages , the training of how to shoot and above all was given the courage to work as a spy. Sehmat was “Raazi”(willing) in working as a spy as she was brought up with the idea of “watan ke agey kuchh bhi nahi khudh bhi nahi” and also she did not want her father to let down.
After a month’s training Sehmat was married to Iqbal (Vicky Kaushal). And stated to play her ambiguous role of being a perfect wife as well as a perfect spy. Thus it gives the screenplay full of anxiety and tension. Some scenes will give the audience a nail-biting moment where she comes out of the tricky situations in witty manner almost of getting caught red-handed. And the way she struggled to keep her duty above all and hiding feelings for her new family specially for her husband is mind blowing.
The trailer of the movie intrigued the audiences to the theaters. Every scenes of her spying and using of code languages will make you feel excited and suspicious about her next move and her next plan. And lastly, Alia as a matured old woman gazed at the barbed wires of the Indo-Pak Border is absolutely eye-catching. And it proves that acting is into her blood.
Now Vicky Kaushal as a Pakistani Army Officer was though villainous in his character but his immense love for Sehmat will snatch your heart and will make you fall in love with him. The emotions and dialogues he displayed showed how dedicatedly he worked for the film. Specially the scene where he gets to know of his wife’s betrayal.
The other characters of the movie were also worth-praising. Sonia Razdaan as Sehmat’s mother and Alia’s real life mother has few scenes but those will bring happiness and smile in your face.
The cinematography was beautifully done and the song ”Ae Watan” written by Gulzar Sahab, with tunes of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Arijit singh’s soulful voice will give you goosebumps and a patriotic feeling.
Overall “Raazi” directed by Meghna Gulzar is a poignant, chest-thumping and patriotic movie based on Harinder A Sikka’s semi biographical novel ”Calling Sehmat”. It is actually based on a true incident of a young woman who goes to Pakistan in disguise of a newly married wife when there is tension brewing between India and Pakistan in 1971 and also tells the audience of the incredible wittiness and story of Sehmat Khan. Thus the film will glue the audience to taut edge of their seats with full rave.
Salute to all those brave hearts who worked as undercover agents for the sake of our nation.
