Tabu to star in Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Khufiya'

Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Khufiya' has been making headlines for a while.  Recently, Bidya Sinha Mim and Mehazabein Chowdhury said that they have rejected the film Khufiya as they thought the film portrays an incorrect representation of Bangladesh.

Mim said she was approached for a role alongside a Bollywood actress in the lead role.

Finally, the Maqbool famed director shares the details of his next project Khufiya, starring Tabu and Ali Afzal with the Hindustan Times. However, he refrained from disclosing anything about his search for a Bangladeshi actor. 

The director's next project, Khufiya, chronicles a true story from the world of intelligence service in India, for which he is uniting with his favourite Tabu and actor Ali Fazal, reports Hindustan Times. 

Based on an espionage novel Escape To Nowhere by Amar Bhushan, the Netflix film will go into production by the end of this month, with Delhi being the main location for the shoot.

"It is my first web project and I am very excited about it. Since it is based on a true event which happened in Delhi, around 70% of the film will be shot in the national capital, and the rest in the US," shares the director in an exclusive chat with Hindustan Times.

Opening up about casting Tabu and Fazal, Bhardwaj says, "Tabu is everyone's favourite and my most favourite. My best work has been with her. I wrote this character keeping Tabu in mind. Tabu plays the role of the main protagonist who is running the mission. And whenever I see Ali in, I find him to be a very good actor, that's why I choose to work with him".

For Tabu, working with Bhardwaj comes with a great comfort level, and creative freedom. "I have the best creative synergy with Vishal, and I can't explain it in words. It has been a while since we wanted to collaborate with each other on the film, and it kept getting delayed because of the pandemic. I am so happy that it is finally happening. I am also doing his son's film, I feel I come in package," Tabu jokes.

With the role, Tabu is set to explore something which she "has not done in a very long time".

"It is a world that I haven't really entered into in a long time. And any new experience is always fantastic, especially for an actor, to go and find your place in that and just do your thing, and see what comes out of it. There is no reference point for me. You will understand when you watch it," she says.

The spy thriller will trace the story of RAW operative, a mole, and an estranged lover, with personal dilemmas making it a complex mission. It also stars Wamiqa Gabbi and Ashish Vidyarthi. The director is aiming to release it in the second half of 2022.

"Amar Bhushan, who himself was the counter intelligence unit head for a long time, has brought details of the surveillance operation where he makes you sit inside the RAW office (with his words). And the modus operandi of the size of our country was so intriguing and exciting for me," shares Bhardwaj, adding, "The detailing of intelligence services which was never before written in a book or even shown in a film till now".