‘Letting Meghna direct Raazi was the biggest blunder’

Harinder Sikka, author of the 2008 novel Calling Sehmat, based on a reallife story, 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.