#CALLING SEHMAT

[anxiouspark]

she walked in to a happy family and walked out of a graveyard

[siriusblack-the-third]

Comfort movies

Tagged by the adorable @strwbi-laces !

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara: one of my Absolute Favourites of All Time. I will sit down and watch every day if given the chance. It's about the trials of friendship, life, career and self growth, and it's a literal gem.

3 Idiots: also one of the Absolute Favourites of All Time. I love literally everything about this one. It addresses the problems with the colossal expectations of the Indian education system and how it leads to the destruction of the mental health of students.

Taare Zameen Par: I always cry whenever I watch this movie, every time. The third- and last- one of my Absolute Favourites. The highlighting of dyslexia and the way society treats it is so relatable and real; that's what makes me love it so much.

Coco: Yes, the animated movie. There is so much about this movie that I love, it's honestly so amazing. I don't think I need to say much about it.

Bajirao Mastani: it's my comfort film because of the fashion, the set, the songs, etc. Basically, I love it for the artistic direction. My favourite character is Kashibai, obv.

Raazi: Gods I love this one. I've been trying to get the book this was inspired by— Calling Sehmat— for such a long time. I hope I get it this year. The story follows a 19yo girl turned spy for India during the Indo Pak war, and it's so riveting. 10/10 always recommend.

Moana: legit most of the non-Bollywood films on here are gonna be animated lol. But Moana is just so so dear to my heart, and if it gets a sequel, it had better be as awesome as Frozen 2 was, which brings us to..

The Frozen Franchise: all of it. Songs, plot, characters, the effort they put into the animation. Just. All of it.

Faster Fene: this is a Marathi film. A murder mystery/thriller that deals with the corruption in the Education system of India. The main character is just so smart (and he's one of my favourite Marathi actors) and everything comes together so well. In love with this one.

Legally Blonde: I would never, ever leave out the most iconic feminist film of all time. Elle Woods is who I aspire to be. Uhh.. with a little less pink. I have nothing against pink— in fact, I quite like it— it's just that my favourite colour is blue

I don't watch many movies, but yeah, here's my top 10, in no particular order. Tagging my darling, awesome @padfootastic and anyone else who wants to!

[book-on-the-bright-side]

“We are what we are thanks to our motherland, Sehmat. Nothing can be more disgraceful than to be disloyal to her. I was born here and I must give my best to this soil. When I merge into it, my conscience should be proud of having lived in a clean, faithful and grateful body.”

That evening the young Sehmat saw a different Hidayat in her father. He was passionate and emotive beyond her imagination and respected humanity more than any religion on earth. For the first time in her young life she understood what ‘watan‘ meant to him.

- Calling Sehmat

[voidsteffy]

The name of the book is "Calling Sehmat"

Ok it's something I always remind my dad when I'm watching Raazi:

Remember how Sehmat saves the squirrel from being run over in the starting of the movie.

And what does she do to the family servant an hour and some minutes later?

Run. Him. Over. Herself.

The dark satirical irony always gets to me

[baarish-ki-dua]

Kabhi kuch sacch bhi tha humare darmiyaan? Was anything ever real between us?

Iqbal, Raazi

[affablealia]

OMFG!!!!!! DROP DEAD GORGEOUS.

[awesometeennews]

Vishal Bhardwaj denies interfering in Meghna Gulzar’s Talvar: ‘I only went on sets once’

Vishal Bhardwaj denies interfering in Meghna Gulzar’s Talvar: ‘I only went on sets once’

[ad_1]

Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj has refuted the claim that he directed Irrfan Khan-starrer Talvar, not Meghna Gulzar, insisting that he went on the sets only once. Recently, author Harinder Sikka has claimed that Meghna did not direct it. Meghna made 2018 film Raazi, based on Harinder’s book Calling Sehmat, with Alia Bhatt in the lead.

Vishal tweeted, “I only went on the sets of Talvar once,…

[latestbreakingnewsupdates]

Calling Sehmat writer Harinder Sikka accuses Raazi director Meghna Gulzar of stealing credit : Bollywood News – latestbreakingnewsupdates.com-latestbreakingnewsupdates.com Back in 2018, Alia Bhatt starred in Meghna Gulzar's Raazi which went onto grow to be a blockbuster.

[theeditorreads]

Raazi This month's bookish movie (well, I'm trying to keep this column monthly, but I don't know how successful I'll be because - life) is Raazi!

[kabhi-haath-pakad-k-tu-mera]

Why I wrote it BINGO (transcript under the cut)

Keep reading

[buzz-london]

Raazi Controversy : Bollywood's History Of Hinduphobia And Appeasement - 23rd July 2020  

A recent controversy around the film, Raazi, has once again, opened the discussion about Bollywood's Hinduphobia, bias, and appeasement of Pakistan and certain communities. Harinder Sikka, author of the book, "calling Sehmat", on which the film Raazi is based, spoke out against the director of the movie, Meghna Gulzar, and how she changed the story of the film to appease Pakistan. 

This appeasement has a long history in Bollywood. Indian's inferiority complex, along with educated elites' Hinduphobia and has resulted in a long list of movies that smear Hindus, and go out of their way to portray Muslims in a positive light. 

Thankfully, there is a trend emerging where some filmmakers want to tell the story of Indian heroes without worrying about political correctness and appeasement. For example, Uri and Tanhaji. I discuss what we can do to encourage more such movies.

https://youtu.be/d9ryK3evRwE

[willkatfanfromasia]

List of 10 favourite characters from 10 favourite things

A big thank you to the lovely and talented @ruminationsofaraven for tagging lil me

Tagging: everyone who sees this for I don't have many mutuals. I'm curious to see your lists!

Harry Potter (surprise surprise!) And Neville Longbottom from Harry Potter series

Molly Hooper and Mycroft Holmes from BBC's Sherlock

Devasena and Bhallaladeva from the Baahubali series

Princess Amba and my fave Sri Krishna from the Mahabharata (the recent star plus version is very good)

Merlin, Gwaine and Morgana from BBC's Merlin

Sehmat from Calling Sehmat / Raazi

Loki, Bucky from the MCU

Eggsy Unwin from the Kingsman series

Mr. Darcy and Charlotte Collins ( née Lucas) from Pride and Prejudice

Jagga from Jagga Jasoos

Marta Cabrera from Knives Out

Other favourites ( by order as listed above) are Severus Snape and Aberforth Dumbledore; Sherlock, Mrs Hudson and Mary; Karna, Bheema, Draupadi and Gandhari, Sansa and Arya Stark; Sam Wilson, captain America and Iron Man; Peshwa Bajirao and my favourite young superhero Hanuman

Have I missed some? Perhaps...

[kabhi-haath-pakad-k-tu-mera]

Saheli

A Raazi Fanfiction.

“Tumhara rishta Pakistan mein kyun hua ye sirf hum jante hein, Sehmat. Toh apni saheliyon ko batane ke liye koi munasib kahani soch lo.”

Translation :

“Only we know why you are being married away to Pakistan, Sehmat. So think up an appropriate story to tell your friends.”

Mitali knows something is off the moment Sehmat tells her that she is getting married and then leaving the country. She looks at her with wide eyes for a moment, almost hoping for her best friend to burst out in laughter and tell her that it was a joke, even if a very bad one. 

“Mitali?” Sehmat asks her, frowning slightly on not receiving a reply.

“But why?”

 She wants to hit herself with the largest tome she can get her hands on the next moment. That is not what you say to your friend two minutes after she tells you that she is getting married. You are supposed to congratulate her, maybe tease her and needle her for more information on her husband-to-be. ‘But why?’ Way to go, Mitali. She diverts her attention back to Sehmat, however, who is now blushing.

“Well …” she begins, then stops. “They’ve been talking of marriage for a while now, and now that our course is coming to an end, it won’t even hinder college.”

Mitali simply raises an eyebrow. “There has been talk of marriage for a while now? And you didn't tell me? Weren't you going to marry for love anyway?”

Sehmat ducks her head at this point but Mitali can see her cheeks turn a shade brighter. Her eyebrow arches higher.

“Sehmat?”

“Well… umm…” she looks up, sees her friend’s bemused gaze and looks back towards her hands toying with her pen. “We met a few months ago, when Abbu had held a party to celebrate his company’s successful expansion beyond the borders. He’s from over there, too. We’ve been communicating over letters since then. The topic of marriage was breached about a month ago.”

Mitali looks at her friend in wonder. Maybe she is a little hurt but more than anything she is baffled. She has known the girl sitting beside her since they were in third grade. Sehmat couldn't keep a secret to save her life. Even so, they told each other everything. How come she never told her about this? And how come she was going to simply leave for Pakistan after marriage and live as a housewife? 

Sehmat had plans for the future. Teaching had always been her passion. She wanted to open a school for the underprivileged children of Srinagar. Somehow the fact that she is getting married this early and giving up on her dream by her choice doesn't sit right with her. 

Her indecision about how she feels is more than a little apparent on her face, seeing which Sehmat scoots over and links her arm in hers. 

“I did mean to tell you, Titli, but somehow it never came up and I was so embarrassed, I don’t know… I’m sorry.” Mitali finally gives Sehmat a smile, although her mind is still whirring. Titli. She doesn't remember the last time Sehmat had called her by her childhood nickname. She must look very upset then. She is still far from convinced, but for Sehmat’s sake she smiles.

They turn back to their books after that—they are preparing to give their final exams for their last year in college in a few days—but Mitali finds that she cannot concentrate on the text after all. It’s not like she can be blamed, anyway. This news has hit her like a freight train for some reason, and all of it completely different from what anyone would have expected. 

They have talked about things all twenty year old girls talk about before, and she knows that Sehmat had not had any intention of marrying anyone anytime soon (a voice in the back of her head says that she could very well have been lying but she ignores it). And being married into Pakistan? Sehmat is patriotic—the Khan family is patriotic—sometimes almost to a fault. If there was one thing about Sehmat’s potential grooms that she had been certain about it was that they would be Indian. But it is not so—Iqbal Syed is Pakistani. He serves in the Pakistani Army. And anyhow, she remembers quite clearly Sehmat telling her that she was going to steer clear of any and all boys for the foreseeable future not three weeks ago.  

Something is not quite right in this entire matter, even though she cannot put her finger on it. Sehmat has never contradicted her own self this dramatically. She doesn't know why, but she gets an ill feeling on thinking about this upcoming event, a feeling that makes her feel scared for her companion. 

~~~~~~~

Sehmat knows that she has done a really bad job as far as telling Mitali about her upcoming wedding is concerned. She can lie to a thousand and ten people but she cannot lie to Mitali—she knows her too well. She tries to keep beaming and blushing as a bride-to-be is expected to throughout the conversation but she can practically hear the gears turning in her friend’s head. 

It is quite clear that Mitali is not able to digest this idea at all. Sehmat doesn't blame her, really, she has shown no inclination at all to get married in the past few months, and then she comes up and says that she’s getting married. She doesn't think she has ever behaved or felt this out of character before. She has to admit she is more oblivious than a brick wall as far as men are concerned. It has always been Mitali who tells Sehmat that the boy she was talking to was, in fact, trying to flirt with her. They would always laugh over it later on.

“...Weren't you going to marry for love anyway?” She has to cover up fast, trying to not seem as out of character as she feels and says that she was practically being courted and didn't tell her about it. She cannot even look at her when she says this for the fear of being found out. Mitali is hurt, of course she is hurt. This girl knows her inside out and to keep something like this from her… 

She does finally seem to accept it, though or at least pretends that she has, and both of them bury their heads back into a book, although Sehmat isn't really reading. Mitali can tell something is wrong even when Sehmat is trying her level best to act happy and content and as if her entire universe has not been ripped apart. She feels honoured, somewhere inside, that she has Mitali for a friend. She wonders briefly if she should say more on the topic of her getting married but then decides against it, not wanting to lie again, and no more is spoken of it.

~~~~~~~~~

After their exams and then the graduation ceremony are over she gets to see Mitali only two weeks before she is to be wed. Mitali has been in Uttrakhand for the past month, visiting her grandparents, so Sehmat really doesn't have to cover up for the extra month she has spent in Delhi undergoing training, although when they finally do meet she wonders if it really is to her benefit. Training has changed her, she knows. She is not as carefree, not as oblivious, not as lost in a different world. More than anything Mir sahab has made sure that she is always in anticipation of an attack or of getting her cover blown. Mitali notices this the moment she sets her eyes on her, of course, and then takes her to a more sheltered nook of the house to ask her if she is truly okay. 

“You look terrible, Sehmat, as if you haven't peacefully slept in a thousand days. And you're quiet. Are you sure everything is okay?” Sehmat doesn't think she has ever felt such a rush of affection for someone. She is truly, eternally grateful to God for Mitali.

She manages to somehow convince her that it is all okay, not that she thinks that Mitali is convinced for even a single second, but she isn't exactly lying when she says to her that she has turned into a bundle of nerves due to the excitement and nervousness that is a part and parcel of getting married.

~~~~~~~~~

Sehmat really laughs out loud on the day on which she is to be wed when Mitali asks her if she really wants to do this, although she isn't quite sure if she is laughing at the audacity of the question or of the situation. It’s too late now to back out anyway. Still, she pretends to be happy all through the day and quietly sighs to herself when she is finally left alone in her bedroom—minutes before groom’s party is set to arrive—and allows herself to truly thank God for giving her such a wonderful friend, a friend whom she would probably never see after this day.

[thebo-okaholic]

Sehmat: The unsung war heroine

Title: CALLING SEHMAT

Author: Harinder Sikka

Pages: 207

Genre: Fiction

Sehmat Khan...as serene as her name indicates. Sehmat a beautiful Kashmiri girl with a passion for dancing and learning, is took away from her daily life to follow her dying father's wishes.

She is to work for the Indian intelligence acting as a spy in Pakistan. She surrenders to patriotism and her father's wishes and sets out to work for her mission towards the country.

The first half of the book shows us Sehmat's transition from a normal college girl into a woman with purpose. Her extraordinary brilliance and will power to handle situations is beautifully portrayed in the book.

At times the book make us worried for Sehmat's situations. It is indeed an honour to travel through the world of Sehmat without whom India would have lost her important naval might.

Calling Sehmat is indeed a thriller espionage giving goosebumps to the readers. Harinder Sikka did not fail to bring the complete essence of his character. This book gives you the thrills, chills and overall the complete experience of a spy during the 20th century war time.

May this unsung heroine be all in our hearts.

[tellywoodtrash]

ebss 13.08.19 lb

the ep looks to be mostly just pooja chasing an ambulance, so this gonna be a quick one.

———————————————————————

chase chase chase. driver is shady. godddddd, this girl is just surrounded by snakes.

ambulance disappeared. ofc.

this colour is gorgeous and looks so so good on poc. i wanna buy something for myselfffffffff in this yellow and shine brightttttt like the sunnnn. (fun fact: i mostly only wear black, white, and blue.)

what these fuckers up to (other than getting their recommended daily allowance of fruit?)

yaaaaaaaaaar. fwd fwd fwd.

"pooja aur kabir, nadi ke do kinaare jo kabhi nahi mil paayenge." lol ok, jokes on you dude. no one can stop two hotties on tellywood from hooking up with each other.

ok i'm fwding all this ambulance kahan hai nonsense.

ambulance toh aa gayi, lekin khaali.

cheekhna chillaana falana dhimkana.

oh boy pooja has gone into existential crisis.

meanwhile....

I KNOW THAT WATCH. OH KABIR YOU SON OF A BITCH.

driver ki toh lagi.

also lol, this police officer has gotten no peace of mind since he's known of pooja's existence. roz kuch na kuch hota rehta hai iske saath.

oh ho ambulance mil gayi.

no point. ambulance was accosted and original nurse and driver thrown out.

this is supposed to look compassionate and all, but it just looks very creepy. lorddddddddd, kabir.

chopras ko maat de diya at least? small mercies.

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh chopras were behind dhruvvvvvvvv, not the mom. they wanted to kill him and frame pooja for it. actually that's a great plan. the killing dhruv bit. pehli baar chopras ke plan se sehmat hui hoon.

sonali acting shaaaaaaaaady.

idhar iska rona khatam hi nahi ho raha. honsla kar behan, mil jayegi.

lo aa gayi call. sis how you not recognize his voice? honestly.

ugh, you fucker. you goddamn fucker. dikhaa di na asli aukaat apni? that same ganda pk mittal waala khoon.

finally ghanti baji ki kabir hai. and she's back to insulting him. ouffffffffff.

sonaliiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, meri achchi bachchi, kahaan phas gayi yaar tu apne haraami bhaiyon ke saath.

“kisne kaha mujhe job nahi mili?”

KIDNAPPING IS NOT A "JOB", KABIR.

btw the soft sinister way he's playing evil has got me genuinely scared. i'm always more scared of the silent, controlled ones than the men who yell. they're fucking terrifying.

ughhhhhhhh. mittal pile-on on my poor childddddd.

all mummies named suman on tellywood are worst.

lmao, wow, zero denial when it comes to kabir doing kidnapping huh. dhruv ke baare mein toh she didn't believe only.

hahahahahahahaha sonaliiiii i love you.

oh ho suman is suddenly all pooja and her aankhon ka dard are sachchi!!!!!

"tu dhruv kyun hota jaa raha hai??????"

kyunki ek toh same haraami baap ke genes, and secondly same bs parvarish you gave both your shitty sons. raise your sons better, desi parents.

wow cannot able get over mummy's sudden morality and holding the men of her family accountable.

kabir what the everloving fuck, mannnnnnnn???? god this is like watching omkara be ruined in DBO all over again. ab toh dard bhi nahi hota.

“baat badle se aage badh chuki hai” he says, and then goes on to give definition of badla only.

me too, mummy. me too.

"tu pagal ho gaya hai kabir."

damn i never thought i'd be on mummy's side over kabir’s, but here we are.

holy shit he's really fucking lost it. he's absolutely convinced ki he's right. jesus christ above.

fuck men. i hate them all.

———————————————————————

forced shaadi by kidnapping family member. what the fuck in the name of shivaay singh oberoi is this fresh hell now?!?!!?!??!

[iajcnews-blog]

Calling Sehmat writer Harinder Sikka accuses Raazi director Meghna Gulzar of stealing credit : Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama

Calling Sehmat writer Harinder Sikka accuses Raazi director Meghna Gulzar of stealing credit : Bollywood News – Bollywood Hungama

Back in 2018, Alia Bhatt starred in Meghna Gulzar’s Raazi which went onto become a blockbuster. The film based on writer Harinder Sikka’s book ‘Calling Sehmat’. Now, the writer has accused the director of stealing the credit.

During Sunday panel discussion on Republic TV, Sikka said, “I wrote Raaziand this is proof against my name by (Meghna) Gulzar. It was written to me by the Jaipur…