“A guy named Samar Khan from Shah Rukh Khan’s company said I won’t let you work in Mumbai,” recalled Call Sehmat screenwriter Harinder Sikar. “We gave Chetan Bhagat Rs 5-7 lakh, who are you?” | Hindi Film News

Alia Bhatt’s performance in Raazi is widely regarded as one of the best performances of her career, but the film still faced criticism from the media. Harinder Singh Sikarauthor of Calling Sehmat , the book that inspired the 2018 spy drama. In a recent interview, Sikka made fresh allegations against film producer and director Gulzar Meghna Gulzar and the individuals he identified as representatives Shah Rukh Khanof Red Hot Chili Peppers Entertainment.Sikka claimed that his first meeting with Gulzar took place around 2016-17, during which the veteran lyricist and filmmaker urged him to consider Meghna Gulzar for the project.“When I went to Gulzar’s house to meet him, he told me, ‘My daughter hasn’t got any job for four years. People think Talvar was made by Vishal Bhardwaj. So give her some work’. I said, ‘I will do it. It’s a promise’,” he said in an interview with YouTube channel Desimartini.Sikar added that he later discussed the matter with Vishal Bhardwaj and, according to him, Vishal replied: “Vishal said, ‘I am like Gulzar’s son. That statement says it all’. “According to Sikka, he agreed to give up the film rights to “Calling Saimat” on the condition that he have a say in the choice of director and star. Jungle Pictures eventually accepted the terms, albeit reluctantly, he claims.“That’s how Meghna Gulzar became the director of this project,” he said.Sikka further claimed that Meghna maintained a warm relationship with him throughout the making of the film, calling him “uncle”. However, he claims their equation changed once filming wrapped.“I don’t want to call you uncle anymore. I don’t want to talk to you anymore,” he claimed she wrote to him after the film.The author also criticized some of the creative liberties taken in adapting his book, saying the changes significantly altered the nature of the original story.“According to the book, when Sehmat returned, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) welcomed her with a red carpet and saluted the tricolor. This is the true story. Meghna canceled this, leaving Sehmat back to his dejected state, where they acted like a Kashmiri woman making a mistake fighting for India. There is no tricolor in the film but there is a lot of Pakistani flag,” he said, adding, “They portray the Pakistani army as weak and raise questions about the IB.“Sikka also claimed that he contacted Gulzar after Razi was released in 2018 and accused him of delaying the publication of his book. He further alleged that Gulzar influenced the organizers of the Jaipur Literature Festival not to invite him.“Gulzar called the Jaipur Literature Festival and told them not to invite me because I had done so much to make his daughter a director.”He also claimed that the title of the film was deliberately changed from Call Sehmat to Raazi.“They changed the name of the film from ‘Calling Sekhmat’ to ‘Raazi’ so that ‘Sekhmat’ would not be as important as Meghna because they wanted to protect Meghna,” he claimed.In the same conversation, Sikka recalled an incident he said happened in 2008, when a man named Samar Khan, who allegedly claimed to be the director of Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment, approached him about acquiring the rights to “Calling Sehmat.”According to Sikka, he quoted Rs 15 crore for the rights and insisted on retaining control over the selection of the director and actors. He claimed the requests were denied.“He stood up and said, ‘We are offering Rs 5-7 lakh Chitan Bhagat. Who are you? I refused to sell him the book. He said, ‘We’re going to make it no matter what. You can do whatever you want. “Sikar further claimed that after discussing the matter with his friend Major Chiba, the dispute was resolved and he received a written apology from Samar Khan. However, he claimed that at a later meeting, Khan made another remark.“Two weeks later, I received a written apology from Samar Khan, but when he met me in person, he said, ‘I will not let you work in Mumbai’.”Earlier in March this year, Sikar called allowing Meghna Gulzar to direct Raazi his “worst misjudgement”. Although he has repeatedly criticized the film and its makers over the years, neither Meghna Gulzar nor Gulzar has publicly responded to his accusations.