Alia Bhatt celebrates Raazi success with Gulzar, Meghna and Vicky Kaushal. See pics

Director Meghna Gulzar has said she did not want to Pakistan bashing in the name of patriotism.

Filmmaker Meghna Gulzar, alongwith her lead actors Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal celebrated the success of their recent film - Raazi - and said she needed the backing of brave people for the patriotic film as it does not take the route of Pakistan bashing. Gulzar and cast members Soni Razdan and Jaideep Ahlawat, among others were also present at the event .

Alia Bhatt plays the lead role in Megha Gulzar’s Raazi. (Viral Bhayani)

The cast of Raazi poses for the camera.

An adaptation of Harinder Sikka’s novel Calling Sehmat, Raazi is about an Indian woman who marries a Pakistani military officer to carry out espionage during the 1971 India-Pakistan War. “The story itself is such a powerful one that we don’t need planks of placard carrying jingoism... You say what to say and you do that simply and honestly. When you are making a film on patriotism and you are not bashing Pakistan, you need brave people to back it,” Meghna told reporters.

Alia Bhatt with her mom and Raazi co-star Soni Razdan.

Asked about her approach of showing the Pakistani people through a humane lens and not clouded with animosity, Meghna said they are humans too. “We don’t need to show someone as bad to show ourselves as good... You don’t need slogan cheering for that. The story was such that neither it was needed nor did we feel the need to add various things to make the story spicy and saleable,” she added.

Karan Johar was also spotted at the event.

Alia Bhatt, who plays Indian spy Sehmat in the film, said the vulnerability of her character was challenging. “In this film, I needed to be mad about the character and when your director gets and loves your madness, there’s nothing better than that. How vulnerable an actor feels in front of the camera, especially while playing a character like this. It’s like being surrounded by fire and you can feel the heat even when you are aware that it’s not there,” Bhatt said.

“And your director tells you, ‘I know what you are going through. You are not alone and we are in this together’, and this is important that I went on this journey with someone,” she added.

Meghna’s father, legendary poet and writer Gulzar, was also present. Gulzar, who has penned the lyrics of the film’s songs, said that, as a father, nothing is bigger than to be in the midst of his daughter’s audience, which made Meghna teary-eyed.

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