Chapter 2

Calling Sehmat

About the author

Mr Harinder Sikka is the Group Director – Strategic Business at Piramal Enterprises

and has been with the Group for over 2 decades. He has been given the ‘Long Service Award'

by the Piramal Group. Mr Sikka is a former Lieutenant Commander from the Indian Navy.

He is the second Indian to be awarded the “Outstanding Service in the field of Anti-
Counterfeiting in India” by the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group, Paris and the “Indira

Super Achiever Award”, 2005 which recognises his professional talent. He is a creative

writer and has written over 100 articles in leading Indian newspapers on issues relating to

national security, health, IPR & TRIPS and counterfeiting.

He has also written a book titled ‘Calling Sehmat’, Mr Sikka works with the Group in

various capacities mainly liaising closely with the government, regulatory bodies and other

authority institutes. On behalf of Piramal Enterprises, he has been hosting two prestigious

golfing events, the Piramal Admiral’s Cup and the Piramal Ambassadors’ Cup, for the past

thirteen years.

Harinder S. Sikka’s illustrious career began when he was commissioned in the Indian

Navy soon after graduating from Delhi University in 1979. He took premature retirement in

1993 and joined the pharmaceutical giant Nicholas Piramal India Ltd., where he presently

serves as Director, Corporate Affairs. A man of enormous courage and conviction, he went to

Kargil during the Indo-Pak war to write about his first-hand experiences.

The book, Calling Sehmat (2008) was conceived at the battle theatre and took eight

long years to complete. It gives an insight into the act of bravery of a Kashmiri family and

scores of others who have similarly died unsung so that we may live in peace. Post-Kargil

war, Mr Sikka began his campaign against spurious drug manufacturers demanding stricter

laws to combat the menace. He continues to lead the campaign against the fake drug mafia

and enjoys the complete backing of his company.

The author of the 2008 novel Calling Sehmat, based on a real-life story, is miffed

with the director Meghna Gulzar (who helmed the film adaptation, of Raazi, 2018 starring

Alia Bhatt in the lead role) and her father, lyricist Gulzar. He claims that it was he who
fulfilled a promise made to the veteran lyricist that he’d let his daughter, Meghna, direct

Raazi, and that was “the biggest blunder” he made.

Summary of the plot

Calling Sehmat (2008) is a spy thriller novel written by Harinder S. Sikka based on

real events. It was Sikka's first novel, initially published by Konark publishers in April 2008.

A revised edition was published by Penguin Random House India in May 2018.

Before the actual ceremony, she is hastily provided spy training by members of the

Indian intelligence organization RAW. After marriage, Sehmat not only manages to gain the

confidence of her new family and their friends but also starts to gather vital information that

she passes on to her handlers. Eventually, she comes across plans to sink a key Indian naval

target using a submarine. At great risk to herself, she promptly manages to relay this

information to her handlers who realize that the target in question is INS Vikrant which at

that point is anchored in the Bay of Bengal as a part of India's naval strategy for the looming

war. They can provide an early warning to the Indian Navy which proves vital towards

India's war effort.

Towards the end, Sehmat is discovered but manages to escape with the help of her

handlers. She ultimately returns to India, pregnant with her Pakistani husband's child. Her

child goes on to grow up and join the Indian Army as an officer himself.

Theme

Calling Sehmat is a story of immense courage and sacrifice by a Kashmiri woman,

Sehmat Khan. Imagine going into enemy territory all alone. That too would be easier than

what Sehmat did. Not only did she go into enemy territory all alone, but she also spent almost

2 years with the enemy, sending vital information to India for the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
Settings

The story is set in India and Pakistan in 1971 and revolves around Sehmat Khan who is born

to a Kashmiri Muslim father and a Punjabi Hindu mother. Sehmat is a young college-going

girl when she learns of her freedom-fighter father's impending death from cancer.

Film adaptation

In 2018, the novel was adapted into a Hindi-language spy thriller with a change in the ending

contrary to the book titled Raazi. It starred Alia Bhatt in the role of Sehmat and Vicky

Kaushal in that of her husband. The film was directed by Meghna Gulzar and produced by

Vineet Jain, Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva Mehta under the banner of Dharma

Productions.

Movie technique

Raazi (transl.Agree) is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language spy action thriller film directed

by Meghna Gulzar and produced by Vineet Jain, Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva

Mehta under the banners of Junglee Pictures and Dharma Productions. It stars Alia Bhatt and

features Vicky Kaushal, Rajit Kapur, Shishir Sharma, and Jaideep Ahlawat in supporting

roles. The film is an adaptation of Harinder Sikka's 2008 novel Calling Sehmat, a true

account of an Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) agent who, upon her father's

request, is married into a family of military officers in Pakistan to relay information to India,

before the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Principal photography of Raazi began in July 2017 in

Mumbai and was completed on 27 October 2017. It was shot across several locations

including Patiala, Nabha, Malerkotla and Doodhpathri. The music and background score of

the film is composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy while the lyrics are penned by Gulzar. The

songs featured in the film are sung by Arijit Singh, Harshdeep Kaur, Vibha Saraf, Shankar
Mahadevan and Sunidhi Chauhan. The song "Ae Watan (Female)" also contains the lyrics of

Allama Iqbal's dua "Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua", which is the national prayer of Pakistan being

offered during school assemblies. The soundtrack was officially released on 18 April 2018 by

Zee Music Company. Vipin Nair of The Hindu gave the soundtrack 4/5 stating that it's "a

gem of a soundtrack" and "wish the soundtrack were longer". The Times of India's Debarati

Sen, in her review, said the album is "definitely one to be heard on the loop". She further

added that it is a "must for music lovers and Gulzar fans".The first poster of Raazi was

released on 9 April 2018 through the official Twitter handle of the film, while the trailer of

the film was launched on 10 April 2018. The film was released on 11 May 2018. Raazi

received universal critical acclaim. The film holds a 100% rating on the review aggregator

website Rotten Tomatoes based on 8 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. Anna M. M.

Vetticad of Firstpost termed the film a heart-stopping, heartbreaking espionage drama and

gave it 4.5 stars out of 5. The Times of India rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, stating that "Raazi

rewrites the spy-thriller genre with emotions, instead of explosions. Rohit Vats of Hindustan

Times praised Alia Bhatt's performance gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5 saying, "Raazi is a

sensibly written and finely performed film that takes a close look at the ordinary lives of

extraordinary people. Not to miss. Shalini Langer of The Indian Express praised director

Meghna Gulzar for not allowing Raazi to become a "chest-thumping spectacle of jingoism"

and gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5 saying that, "at a time when hate and anger are the

currency of the subcontinent, a film like Raazi needs to be made. Meena Iyer of Daily News

and Analysis gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5, saying, "Alia Bhatt-Vicky Kaushal starrer

will blow your mind! Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com appreciated the acting performances of

the film, its music composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, cinematography as well as editing,

and gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5 saying that "Raazi is a rarity. It is intense, riveting,

clever, dark, sad, lyrical, heartfelt, relevant and understated. Rajeev Masand of News18 gave
the film a rating of 3.5, calling Bhatt the "beating heart of Raazi", and stated, "The film is

admirable also because it's a measured, mostly intelligent thriller that asks us to consider

concepts of patriotism and honour without spoon-feeding us with manipulative background

music or provocative dialogue. Bollywood Hungama gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5,

saying, "Raazi is an interesting thriller brilliantly narrated by Meghna Gulzar that makes for

mature viewing. It is a film that celebrates nationalism that is devoid of the colours of

religion. Suhani Singh from India Today gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars stating "Alia Bhatt

steals the show in Meghna Gulzar's spy thriller". In a negative review, Kenneth Rosario of

The Hindu commented, "A lot is going for Raazi yet there's a nagging lack of novelty –

whether it is the film's plot, message or Bhatt's ability to cry. Raja Sen of NDTV gave the

film a rating of 3 out of 5 saying, "There is a lot to like in Meghna Gulzar's spy movie, but

Alia Bhatt makes it hard to take Raazi seriously. Nandini Ramnath of Scroll. said, "Alia Bhatt

shines in a muddled and improbable spy thriller.

Calling Sehmat Vs Raazi

In 1971, Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan, became an independent

country after a bloody and violent war. India supported Bangladesh with its military power,

irking its western neighbour. In 2008, Harinder S. Sikka published a book, Calling Sehmat,

loosely based on the true story of an Indian spy who married a Pakistani and lived in Pakistan

during the time, collecting vital information for her country. In 2018, the book was made into

Raazi, a movie starring Alia Bhatt.

Both the movie and the book are thrilling and keep you on the edge of your seat.

Before we go forward, there are a few characters who will be referenced throughout the

piece, so it is best to introduce them now. The protagonist of the story, Sehmat; her Indian

trainer and handler, Mir; her father-in-law Army Brigadier Sheikh Sayeed (in the books) or
Parvez Syed (in the movie); and her loving husband Iqbal. Also, as we will be analysing and

comparing both the movie and the book, be prepared to come across spoilers, so read at your

own risk! Whenever a book is adapted into a movie, one of the most interesting aspects to

watch out for is the film characterisation of the book characters and how the actors portray

them on screen. The first step is the casting, and in this case, the director, Meghna Gulzar,

and her team got it to spot on. It seemed as if the actors were perfectly made to depict their

book counterparts, and as if the roles were written just for them. This is one of the primary

reasons why I can call this a fairly successful adaptation. No review of the movie can be

complete without mentioning Alia Bhatt’s brilliant performance; the integrity, the nuances,

and the sympathy she brought to the screen while playing Sehmat alone made the movie

worth watching.

Both the book and the movie focused a lot on Sehmat’s dedication and passion

towards any cause she took up, but the way they portrayed it was different. The book focused

a lot on her passion for dance, and Sikka writes a particularly poignant scene where Sehmat is

so lost in her dance performance that she doesn’t even realise that her foot is cut and is

bloodying the entire stage. The movie instead, chooses to skip this and depicts her dedication

only to her country and spends a lot of time showing it by going into details of her spy

training. I preferred how the book deals with it because it not only showed Sehmat’s

willingness to work hard and her passion from a young age but also presented a more multi-

faceted side to the protagonist as opposed to the unidimensional character we come across in

the movie. However, I can understand why it was skipped in the film since the dance scene

would definitely be a distraction and take away from the edginess and pacing of the movie.

However, my bigger issue is with Sehmat’s character evolution while in Pakistan and the

portrayal of her husband, Iqbal. In the book, Sehmat participates far more actively in the Syed

household and even influences Brigadier Syed’s decisions and gives him lessons on strategy
and political savviness. In the movie, Mir has warned Sehmat not to make herself

conspicuous and she dutifully fulfils her instructions by being a relative wallflower at her in-

laws’ and going about her mission quietly in the background. Furthermore, in the book, she

makes active cold-blooded decisions such as killing her brother-in-law, as opposed to the

movie where instructions are given by her Indian superiors and she is shown in a moral

conundrum as to whether or not to follow them. The movie, therefore, depicts a much softer

side to her- where she understands the importance of her mission but at the same time

grapples with the humaneness of her actions and seems more of a ‘follower’ as opposed to a

‘decision maker’. The choice to develop her character in such a way makes Sehmat come

across as someone caught in a tough situation in the movie, whereas in the book she is a

deadly spy who only focuses on the success of her mission, irrespective of who or what needs

to be sacrificed to complete it. We rarely come across Sehmat’s ‘human side’ in the book,

and it is only at the end that we see her emotional side. The character of Iqbal too is portrayed

rather differently. In the book, he is much more of a doting lover, shown with little brains or

conviction. In the book, he is so hopelessly in love with her that he goes along with her plans,

and sacrifices his widowed sister-in-law so Sehmat can escape safely to India. In the movie,

he is much better etched out he gives Sehmat the choice of when to have sex with him,

displays a passion for jazz music and chooses to understand Hindustani classical as his wife

enjoys it. In the end, he picks loyalty to his country over his love for her, resulting in his

death. I found this problematic as it made Sehmat’s journey in the book seem all too easy,

while the movie showed a lot more of her struggles and the tough choices she had to make.

One very important aspect of any book adaptation is how true the movie has stayed to the

plot. Very often you find a book is almost unrecognisable in its film version, a clear case of

this being Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone as different from Three Idiots as chalk is

from cheese. However, Raazi stayed pleasantly true to Calling Sehmat.

 Having said that, there are a few glaring differences between the two. Once again, I

understand the reason for omitting them as the pace of the movie would be severely affected,

but I did miss these bits in the movie. The first and most important difference is the deletion

of the character Abhinav or Aby, Sehmat’s lover back in India. Sehmat met Aby in college

and he plays an important role in ensuring she is selected to play Mirabai despite the college

board’s opposition to her being chosen as she is Muslim. More importantly, in the end, when

she has an emotional break down he is the one who adopts and raises her son till she can care

for him again. Much to my surprise, the entire character of Aby was deleted from the movie.

One major plot difference between the book and the movie is the network of spies and

informers who help Sehmat while she is in Pakistan. The book only shows a handful of

people doing this, and that too not till the end of the book. The movie instead depicts her

constantly leaning on others, whether rickshaw wallahs, fruit and flower sellers or seniors in

the Indian embassy who are assisting her or providing her with guidance. The book makes it

seem like a one-man operation, and that too from a relatively naïve and untrained girl, as

opposed to the movie where it seems more realistic and probable. Another interesting

difference is the depiction of religion in the book. It pays much more attention to religious

differences and Hindu-Muslim sensitivities while the movie only focuses on the nationality

angle. In fact, in the movie, there is no reference to anyone’s religion, but only to their

nationality. This makes for a refreshing change in the current political scenario where so

much importance is given to religious differences. By not focusing on the religious angle, the

movie intelligently portrays that nationality and loyalty to one’s nation are well above

religion and, unlike the book, does not imply that Sehmat’s role was more praise-worthy

because she was a Muslim loyal to India. I cannot say I enjoyed one version significantly

more than the other. Both portrayed various aspects of this true story in different ways. Given

an author doesn’t set a time frame within which the reader must finish his book, he is a lot
more at liberty to introduce subplots. The director and scriptwriter of the movie need to keep

the movie taut and every moment interesting, and therefore need to whittle the story down to

the essentials. This is the case when it came to Raazi vis-à-vis Calling Sehmat. At the end of

the movie, Sehmat gives Mir a moving speech on humanity and war, on how she doesn’t

want to become a ‘soldier’ who can sacrifice people without thinking of the consequences. I

wonder how the book would have been had there been a similar speech, instead of Sehmat

simply accepting that sacrifice is part of the nature of war. I wonder how gripped I would

have been till the end of the movie had I known that Sehmat survives her stay in Pakistan and

dies an old woman in India as I did from the opening pages of the books. The book almost

seemed tranquil despite the thrilling story, while the movie kept you on edge throughout.