Raazi is an espionage thriller set against the backdrop of the period prior to Indo-Pak war in 1971. It is based on a book "Calling Sehmat" which is a true story written by Harinder Sikka.
Hidayat (played by Rajit Kapur) is an Indian, businessman based in Kashmir. In the course of his cross-border business, he acquires intel data which he passes on to the Intelligence Bureau as a true Indian citizen and patriot. Whilst he wishes to continue ,but his health restricts him. He then decides to send his daughter Sehmat (played by Alia Bhatt) to Pakistan as an Indian secret spy agent by getting her married to his close friend Brigadier Syed's son Iqbal Syed (played by Vicky Kaushal), both serving the Pakistani army. Sehmat undergoes intensive training under an Indian Inteligence agent Khalid Mir (played by Jaideep Ahlawat) before leaving for Pakistan.
Across the border in Pakistan Sehmat gets married to Iqbal Syed and assimilates in her new (Pakistani Army) family. She then gets onto the job of collecting and passing Pak intel infromation to IB.
Will Sehmat succeed in her mission and return safely to Kashmir? For all this and more you will have to watch the movie.
The editing of the movie is crisp and tight. The story of the movie keeps the audience glued to their seats.
Alia Bhatt once again shines and gives one of her best performances as Sehmat, a simple and naive girl. Alia is challenging herself with every movie and is raising the bar as an actor. She is supremely talented with her expressions and acting. Jaideep Ahlawat gives a stellar and one of his best performances to date as Khalid Mir. Rajit Kapoor as Sehmat's father Hidayat also leaves a mark. The other good performances of the movie are Shishir Sharma (Brigadier Syed and father of Iqbal) and Vicky Kaushal as Iqbal Syed.
The music of the movie by Shankar-Ehsan Loy is one of the best albums this year which evokes patriotism. There are only four songs in this movie and all of them are good. Credit for the music also goes to the lyrics wonderfully written by the great Gulzar. Gulzar is one of the best in this era.
This is definitely one of the best movies of Meghana Gulzar to date. Her direction is outstanding after her last outing Talwar.
Overall Raazi rewrites the spy thriller genre and is one of the best movies coming in recent times. It is a must watch for everyone which is not to be missed and is absolutely recommended.
**** stars.
