New Delhi: Kareena Kapoor Khan and Meghna Gulzar have collaborated for the first time for the film Daayra, in which Khan is playing the greyest character of her career. Gulzar describes the character as one that “invades” and “attempts to dismantle” the grey.
Khan plays DCP Ajooni Kohli opposite Prithviraj Sukumaran, who portrays DCP Raman Kumar. The story revolves around a gripping investigative narrative that explores how a diabolical act sparks polarising reactions across society.
“Daayra is a story that doesn’t take place in a particular city or state of India, but can happen almost everywhere in our country,” Gulzar said in a statement.
On Thursday, Kareena shared Gulzar’s statement. According to Khan, the film reflects the reality of the world we live in. She described the director’s vision as one that does not impose on the audience what to think.
“Meghna, I’m so proud of what we’ve made and of the conversation you have chosen to begin with Daayra,” she wrote while sharing Gulzar’s statement.
Exploring the grey
In the statement, Gulzar revealed that although she believed she had travelled extensively in her birthplace, Mumbai, and across India, Daayra took her to unseen and unvisited places.
“Daayra took my creativity to areas I had never explored before. It took my social awareness to heights I didn’t know I had,” the statement read.
As a sociologist, Meghna says that she understands that life and society are not binary, are not black and white, but exist in the grey space where everyone lives.
“In my journey as a filmmaker — through Talvar, Raazi, Chhapaak and Sam Bahadur — I have cherished exploring that very grey — within character and within the world they and we live in,” the statement added.
The film also marks the first collaboration between Khan and Sukumaran, which she describes as a “dream come true.” The two prolific actors from Hindi and Malayalam cinema go head-to-head, with their characters frequently finding themselves on opposite sides while enforcing the law.
“The two are the yin and yang of Daayra,” the statement read.
The film is scheduled to release on September 18, 2026.