Alia Bhatt-Vicky Kaushal's Raazi: All you need to know about Meghna Gulzar's spy thriller

Last year, Vicky Kaushal said that it would be an honour to work with Alia Bhatt and this year his dream came true. The Masaan actor will soon start working with Alia Bhatt in the movie Raazi.

Here is what we know about the movie so far.

Lead pair

Alia and Vicky are in the lead roles. Alia plays the role of a Kashmiri girl who is a spy. She is married to a Pakistani Army officer, played by Vicky. Vicky and Alia are pairing up for the first time.

"I'm honoured to be getting an opportunity to work with Meghana Gulzar and also looking forward to working with Alia, who I feel is one of the finest actresses we have at the moment. Actually, the entire team is so talented and especially to be working with Dharma Productions is rewarding for any young actor. I'll soon wrap up Raju Sir's Film and will begin Shooting for Raazi," Vicky said in a statement.

Director and storyline

Meghna Gulzar is directing the spy thriller. The film is set in the days preceding the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

"I am trying to do something in a new space, recreating India and Pakistan of the 70s on sets and real locations. A lot of research has gone into getting the period and dialect right. There are some action pieces too. It's work in progress with workshops and reading sessions," Gulzar said.

Based on best-selling novel

The movie is based on Harinder S Sikka's best-selling novel Calling Sehmat. According to the author, the novel is inspired by the real life story of a woman.

Shooting location

The film is expected to go on floors in July and the shooting will take place in Mumbai and Punjab extensively. The makers have also planned to shoot the movie in Kashmir given the backdrop.

Hurdles

The film is still in the pre-production stage, but it has already faced its first hurdle. The shooting of the film was expected to take place in Kashmir given the backdrop, but due to the current situation, the makers couldn't get the necessary permission to shoot in the valley.

"The original plan was to start the shoot in the Valley. However, Kashmir has been knocked off in the first schedule. Rumours are rife that Ansarul Khilafah Jammu Kashmir (the Indian facet of the IS) is threatening the local police with violence and, in such a situation, it's in everyone's best interest to not shoot the film in the state," a unit member said.

Release date

The film will release on May 11, 2018. Filmmaker Karan Johar, who is co-producing the movie, tweeted about the film's release date. "Exciting date announcement! #Raazi releasing 11th May,2018...@aliaa08 @vickykaushal09 @DharmaMovies @JungleePictures @meghnagulzar," he wrote on Twitter.