Author Harinder Sikka hits out at Meghna Gulzar over Raazi adaptation of his book, calls it his ‘gravest misjudgment’

Meghna Gulzar’s Raazi, featuring Alia Bhatt, is one of the best spy thriller movies made in India. Based on Harinder Sikka’s best-selling book, ‘’Calling Sehmat,'' the movie, released in 2018, not only impressed viewers but also critics.

Eight years after the movie was released in cinemas, the author of the book has shockingly come out to criticise Meghna over altering the book’s true narrative and instead showing a version that, he says, misrepresented India.

Harinder Sikka slams Meghna Gulzar over Raazi,'my gravest misjudgement'

Sikka’s criticism of Meghna has come at a time when the buzz around espionage thrillers and their adaptation to the big screen has grown, amid discussions about Dhurandhar: The Revenge.

Talking to X, Sikka described Calling Sehmat as “among the top books on espionage ever written globally, as he called “Appointing Meghna Gulzar was my gravest misjudgement.”

Saying that he failed to foresee how ideological bias would end up ending the true spirit of the central character, he wrote,''It was my fault. I was told by many people not to trust Meghna Gulzar But I couldn’t believe it. ‘Trust, but verify.’”

Screenshot of Harinder S Sikka Photograph: (X)

Hours after his scathing post against the director, who is the daughter of poet-filmmaker Gulzar, he, in an interview with Hindustan Times, said that he wasn’t willing to sell the rights to the book but agreed because of a promise to Gulzar.

''I wasn’t willing to sell the rights of the book but agreed because of a promise to Gulzar,” he shares.

“My problem is that she removed the tricolour from the movie, while the Pakistani flag was flaunted. Even the Pakistani army was shown in a soft light. While in the book the protagonist was welcomed with (the Indian national anthem) Jana Gana Mana when she returned to India, all that was missing in the film. The climax was made to show that Sehmat made a mistake by fighting for India, which harmed the cause of Kashmiris,” he added.

Accusing Meghna of disrespecting him after the movie was made, he claimed that during filming, she continuously referred to him as “uncle.”

However, once the shooting was complete, she wrote a nasty message refusing to speak to him.

“I told her that I was appointing her on her father’s request, even though she didn’t have a good reputation in the industry. She referred to me as uncle during the filming, after the film’s completion, she wrote a nasty message saying, ‘I don’t want to speak to you anymore’. The director’s cut was shown to the armed forces but not to me.” He adds.

Speaking further, he also shared that he didn't agree to the film's title change from Sehmat to Raazi, “Meghna didn’t want to acknowledge Sehmat for who she was. I was taken for a ride,” he said before adding how Gulzar got him from speaking at a Jaipur Literature Festival.

“I have a letter by the Jaipur Literature Festival team, that says Mr Gulzar pushed them to not let me speak at their event. When I questioned him, he said it was a typo.” he shared.

Gulzar and Meghna have not shared any comment on Harinder Sikka's claims