New Delhi: To mark 58 years of India’s foreign intelligence agency, R&AW, Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions has announced a film on Rameshwar Nath Kao, the founder and first chief of the agency. The film will be based on the 2019 book R.N. Kao: Gentleman Spymaster by Nitin A Gokhale.
The film is scheduled to be released on 11 August, 2028, around Independence Day weekend, coinciding with the organisation’s 60th anniversary year. The casting, director, and other key details have not yet been shared. According to Variety, an A-list actor is expected to lead the project.
“He built the invisible..but history remembers his impact,” Karan Johar wrote about Rao while sharing the announcement.
Karan Johar said in a statement that Leo Media Collective, the co-producer of the untitled film, has been researching and dramatising the film’s narrative for the past two years.
“We want this film to be a gripping story based on true facts to pay homage to R&AW and honour their milestone year with a solid motion picture … all of us at Dharma are so excited to get going,” he said.
From police service to Intelligence Bureau
RN Kao was born in Varanasi in 1918. He studied at Lucknow University and later completed his master’s degree in English Literature at Allahabad University. In 1940, he joined the police service and later moved to the Intelligence Bureau.
Kao became an important intelligence officer after working closely with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, including during his tenure overseeing the prime minister’s security. He was involved in setting up the Aviation Research Centre in the 1960s, which helped India strengthen its technical intelligence-gathering capabilities.
Following the 1962 war with China and the 1965 war with Pakistan, India’s intelligence apparatus underwent a restructuring, including the creation of a separate agency for external intelligence. Kao was given the responsibility of helping establish R&AW in 1968 and became its first chief.
In his book R.N. Kao: Gentleman Spymaster, Nitin A Gokhale explores Kao’s early years, including his father’s death, his university years, and his entry into the police service in 1940. The book also covers his time in the Intelligence Bureau between 1947 and 1968, as well as major assignments, including the investigation into the 1955 Kashmir Princess aircraft bombing.
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Kao and the early years of R&AW
Under Kao’s leadership, R&AW played an important role in India’s intelligence operations during the 1971 India-Pakistan war. His team gathered intelligence on Pakistan and provided inputs that supported India’s operations during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Kao was also involved in building R&AW as a specialised external intelligence organisation, including recruiting officers with specialised skills. He headed the agency from 1968 to 1977.
Edited by Maryam Hassan