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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\nAlia Bhatt\u2019s Raazi is widely regarded as one of the standout performances of her career, but the film has continued to face criticism from Harinder Singh Sikka<\/a>, author of Calling Sehmat, the book that inspired the 2018 spy drama. In a recent interview, Sikka levelled fresh allegations against filmmaker Gulzar, director Meghna Gulzar<\/a> and an individual he identified as a representative of Shah Rukh Khan<\/a>\u2019s Red Chillies Entertainment.Sikka claimed that his first meeting with Gulzar took place around 2016\u201317, during which the veteran lyricist and filmmaker urged him to consider Meghna Gulzar for the project.\u201cWhen I went to meet Gulzar at his home, he told me, \u2018My daughter hasn\u2019t gotten any work for four years. People think that Talvar was made by Vishal Bhardwaj. So give her some work\u2019. I said, \u2018I will do it. It\u2019s a promise\u2019,\u201d he said in an interview with YouTube channel DesimartiniSikka added that he later discussed the matter with Vishal Bhardwaj, who, according to him, responded, \u201cVishal said, \u2018I am like Gulzar\u2019s son. That statement said everything\u2019.\u201dAccording to Sikka, he had agreed to part with the film rights of Calling Sehmat only on the condition that he would have a say in selecting both the director and the lead actors. He alleged that Junglee Pictures eventually accepted those terms, though reluctantly.\u201cAnd that is how Meghna Gulzar became the director of this project,\u201d he said.Sikka further claimed that Meghna maintained a warm relationship with him throughout the making of the film, addressing him as \u201cuncle.\u201d However, he alleged that their equation changed once filming concluded.\u201cI don\u2019t want to call you uncle anymore. I don\u2019t want to talk to you anymore,\u201d he claimed she wrote to him after the film wrapped.The author also criticised several creative liberties taken in adapting his book, saying the changes significantly altered the essence of the original story.\u201cAs per the book, when Sehmat came back, she was welcomed by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) with a red carpet and she saluted the tricolour. That was the real story. Meghna removed that and brought Sehmat back in a depressed state and they showed it like a Kashmiri woman has made a mistake fighting for India. There was no tricolour in the film but there were so many Pakistani flags,\u201d he said and added, \u201cThey painted the Pakistani army as soft and questioned IB.\u201dSikka also alleged that he contacted Gulzar after Raazi was released in 2018 and accused him of delaying the publication of his book. He further claimed that Gulzar influenced organisers of the Jaipur Literature Festival not to invite him.\u201cGulzar called Jaipur Literature Festival and told them not to invite me when I had made so many efforts to make his daughter a director.\u201dHe also alleged that the film\u2019s title was deliberately changed from Calling Sehmat to Raazi.\u201cThey changed the name of the film from Calling Sehmat to Raazi so Sehmat doesn\u2019t gain as much importance as Meghna because they wanted to protect Meghna,\u201d he claimed.During the same conversation, Sikka revisited an earlier incident that he said took place in 2008, when an individual named Samar Khan, who allegedly identified himself as a director at Shah Rukh Khan\u2019s Red Chillies Entertainment, approached him to acquire the rights to Calling Sehmat.According to Sikka, he quoted Rs 1.5 crore for the rights and insisted on retaining control over the choice of director and cast. He claimed those demands were rejected.\u201cHe got up and said, \u2018We give Rs 5-7 lakh to Chetan Bhagat. Who are you?\u2019 I refused to sell him the book. He said, \u2018We are going to make it anyway. You do whatever you want to do\u2019.\u201dSikka further alleged that after discussing the matter with a friend, Major Chibba, the dispute was resolved and he received a written apology from Samar Khan. However, he claimed that during a later meeting, Khan made another remark.\u201cIn two weeks, I got a written apology from Samar Khan but when he met me in person, he said, \u2018I won\u2019t let you work in Mumbai\u2019.\u201dEarlier this year, in March, Sikka had described allowing Meghna Gulzar to direct Raazi as his \u201cgravest misjudgement.\u201d Despite his repeated criticism of the film and its makers over the years, neither Meghna Gulzar nor Gulzar has publicly responded to his allegations.<\/div>\n