He thinks fast and speaks less, reveals Jaideep Ahlawat about his Raazi character

Raazi, based on Harinder Sikka’s book Calling Shemat, is about a Kashmiri girl married to a high ranking Pakistani army officer. Planted by the Indian agencies, she is expected to carry out unthinkable and tough tasks across the border.

Jaideep Ahlawat (Gangs of Wasseypur, Commando) is playing an important role in Raazi. He says, “Sehmat is planted by the Indian government in Pakistan. I am playing her trainer, Khalid Mir. My character has a history with her father. They have worked together in the past, but Khalid Mir is way ahead of him in rank. He feels more responsible towards Sehmat.”

He adds, “He thinks fast and speaks less. He is one of those guys who are hard to figure out. I remember Meghna (Gulzar, director) told me that I never want to know who real Mir is. Nobody knows what he does in his real life.”

Espionage plays a big role during wars. Jaideep says, “It’s a story set in the backdrop of India-Pakistan war of 1971. It was a very interesting time as the political and social scenario was changing rapidly. We defeated Pakistan in that war with a thumping win.”

The trailer of Raazi shows the methods of spying. Did they train for it? He says, “We understood how small things are done. For example, what could be the best place to bug a house? Gate of the house is a good place because normally we speak while standing there. It wasn’t today’s times when we have many means of surveillance.”

“It’s one of my better performances. It’s an extraordinary story told with simplicity. Raazi is about people who put the country before anything else,” Jaideep Ahlawat signs off.

Raazi released on May 11, 2018.

The author tweets at Twitter/@nawabjha