New Delhi:
Ayushmann Khurrana’s Andhadhun won the National Film Award for the Best Hindi Film category but Meghna Gulzar’s Raazi fail make any mark at ten award show. Now the author of Calling Sehmat, the book on which the movie is based, Harinder Sikka has claimed that it is because of the director Raazi failed to bag an award.
The director insisted that Meghna shouldn’t have edited a crucial ‘tricolour’ sequence from the film. Harinder Sikka has ended his book with the central character Sehmat, saluting the tricolour. Speaking at a media event, Harinder said, “In the book, the story ends with Sehmat saluting the tricolour. If the film had the same ending, the film would have won the National Award.” He instated that, “I told the director that you have stopped the film from getting National Award by cutting the tricolour scene in the film. Though this was done by the wishes of the filmmakers, but I still have a resentment over it.”
Raazi revolves around the character of Sehmat, played by Alia Bhatt, an Indian girl who ties the knot with a Pakistani officer to spy for her home country.
Raazi did go on to bag critical acclaim and a bunch of awards. It won the Filmfare Best Film Award. Meghna Gulzar was adjudged the best director at the same awards show. It went on to sweep the IIFA awards too, bagging Best Film and Best Actress award for Alia Bhatt.
Talking about his book, Sikka said that he was a person who had never written a book, and his first book Calling Sehmat sold around five lakh copies. Sehmat taught him how to live. His next book is Section 370, and he said that Sehmat is the inspiration again.
Meghna Gulzar meanwhile, has moved on to her next film, the Deepika Padukone starrer, Chhapaak. Based on the trials and tribulations of an acid attack survivor it’s a gritty saga that has generated much interest among fans since its trailer was dropped online.
