''Calling Sehmat'' is the 2008

spy thriller Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelli ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

written by Harinder S. Sikka based on real events. It was Sikka's

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, first published by Konark Publishers in April 2008. A revised edition was subsequently published by

Penguin Random House India Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was originally founded in 1935 and Random House was fou ...

in May 2018.

Plot

The story is set in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

in 1971 and revolves around Sehmat Khan who is born to a Kashmiri Muslim father and a

Punjabi Hindu Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify ethnically, linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis and are natives of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Punjabi Hindus are the third-largest religious g ...

mother. Sehmat is a young college-going girl when she learns of her freedom-fighter father's impending death from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. As a part of his final wishes, her patriotic father convinces Sehmat to marry a Pakistani army officer, the son of his friend who is a high-ranking Pakistani army general himself. His intention is to place Sehmat as an undercover operative within the Pakistani army household. Before the actual ceremony, she is hastily provided

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...

training by members of the Indian

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

organization RAW. After marriage, Sehmat not only manages to gain the confidence of her new family and their friends but also starts to gather vital information that she passes on to her handlers. Eventually, she comes across plans, what appear to be, to sink a key Indian naval target using a

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

. At great risk to herself, she promptly manages to relay this information to her handlers who realize that the target in question is which at that point is anchored in the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

as a part of India's naval strategy for the looming war. They are able to provide an early warning to the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

which proves vital towards India's war effort. Towards the end, Sehmat is discovered but manages to escape with the help of her handlers. She ultimately returns to India, pregnant with her Pakistani husband's child. Her child goes on to grow up and join the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

as an officer himself.

Non-fictional elements

According to Sikka, he stumbled upon the story during the Kargil conflict. He acquired the story from an

Indian army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

officer who told him of how his mother, a

Kashmiri Muslim Kashmiri Muslims are ethnic Kashmiris who practice Islam and are native to the Kashmir Valley of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan ...

, had married a

Pakistani Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

officer to provide

with classified information during the 1971 war. Sikka eventually managed to meet the officer's mother in

Malerkotla Malerkotla is a city and the district headquarters of Malerkotla district in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It served as the seat of the eponymous princely state during the British Raj. The state acceded to the Dominion of India, un ...

, Punjab where she eventually unfolded further elements of her story. As a part of her duties in Pakistan, she used to tutor

General Yahya Khan Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (4 February 191710 August 1980) was a Pakistani army officer who served as the third president of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971. He also served as the fifth commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army from 1966 to 1971. A P ...

's grandchildren. It took Sikka approximately 8 years to fictionalize the story and arrange it into a cohesive

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller ...

. He fictionalized the name of the main character in order to keep her anonymous. During a recent interview, he said the real woman behind the character has since died. As a tribute to her, Sikka formally launched the book aboard Vikrant, which was docked at

Naval dockyard A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usu ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. The book was re-published by Penguin India in a new format in March 2018.

Hindi version

A Hindi version of the book was published on 23 August 2019.

Film adaptation

In 2018, the novel was adapted into a Hindi-language spy thriller with a change in the ending contrary to the book titled ''Raazi''. It starred

Alia Bhatt Alia Bhatt (; born 15 March 1993) is a British actress of Indian descent who predominantly works in Hindi films. Known for Alia Bhatt filmography, her portrayals of women in challenging circumstances, she has received List of awards and nomin ...

in the role of Sehmat and

Vicky Kaushal Vicky Kaushal (; born 16 May 1988) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards, and has appeared in ''Forbes India'' Celebrity 100 list of ...

in that of her husband. The film was directed by

Meghna Gulzar Meghna Gulzar is an Indian writer, director and producer. She is best known for directing critically acclaimed films; '' Talvar'' (2015) and '' Raazi'' (2018). Born to Gulzar and actress Raakhee, Gulzar joined her father as an assistant to ...

and produced by

Vineet Jain Vineet Jain (born 1966) is an Indian entrepreneur and current Managing Director of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Limited (B.C.C.L.), India's oldest and largest media group in India, also known as The Times Group. Early life and education Vineet Jai ...

Karan Johar Karan Yash Johar (born Rahul Kumar Johar; 25 May 1972), often informally referred to as KJo, is an Indian filmmaker, producer and television personality who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several successful ac ...

, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva Mehta under the banner of

Dharma Productions Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Yash Johar in 1979. It was taken over in 2004, after his death, by his son, Karan Johar. Based in Mumbai, it mainly produces and distributes H ...

References

External links

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Calling Sehmat
at

Penguin India Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a smal ...