- Kareena Kapoor shows an unseen stoic facet in Daayra as police officer Ajooni
- Prithviraj Sukumaran plays Raman, a police officer with caged rage, opposite Kareena
- Daayra explores complex moral grey areas, not simple right or wrong situations
Kareena Kapoor appears to have surprised even filmmaker Meghna Gulzar with her performance in Daayra. As the film's trailer is set to release on August 31, Meghna has opened up about what she saw in the actor while working on the project, calling it an “entirely unseen facet” of Kareena.
Daayra pairs Kareena with Malayalam star Prithviraj Sukumaran. The two play police officers who approach their work and the idea of justice very differently. For Meghna, the contrast between their characters became one of the key parts of the film.
Talking about Kareena's performance, Meghna wrote in her Instagram note, “Daayra unveils an entirely unseen facet of the actor that is Kareena Kapoor. Kareena as Ajooni, is stoic, unreadable. She cracks open situations and people with a smile.”
The filmmaker also explained how Prithviraj's character fits into this dynamic. “Prithviraj Sukumaran as Raman, is the hinge to Kareena's Ajooni. Seething with a caged rage. And almost never smiles. The two are the Ying and Yang of Daayra. And that's just one of the many dualities that Daayra navigates.”
The film marks an interesting pairing, with Kareena representing the Hindi film industry and Prithviraj bringing his Malayalam cinema experience to the story. Meghna said getting the two actors together was a major casting opportunity for her.
“As a casting opportunity, it was a dream come true for me. To get two prolific actors from the Hindi and Malayalam film industry to face each other off,” she wrote.
A Different Kind Of Police Story
Daayra is inspired by several true events from across India. Rather than placing the story in one particular city or state, the film looks at situations that, according to Meghna, can happen in different parts of the country.
The filmmaker has also connected the film to a theme that has been present in several of her earlier projects. From Talvar and Raazi to Chhapaak and Sam Bahadur, Meghna has often explored characters and situations that are not easy to label as simply right or wrong.
“As a student of Sociology, I learned that our life and our society is not binary. It's not just black and white. There is a spectrum of grey that we exist in. In my journey as a filmmaker — through Talvar, Raazi, Chhapaak and SamBahadur, I have cherished exploring that very grey - within characters and within the world they, and we live in.”
For Daayra, she said this idea goes even further. “Daayra for me, not only explores that grey... It invades it... it attempts to dismantle it.”
At the centre of the story are Ajooni and Raman, both officers of the law but often on different sides of difficult situations. Meghna described Ajooni as “fiercely righteous”, while Raman is “righteously fierce”.
“In it, the main protagonists — Kareena Kapoor Khan and Prithviraj Sukumaran are both officers of law enforcement; and yet, they often find themselves on opposite sides of a delicate line. Kareena's Ajooni is fiercely righteous. Prithviraj as Raman is righteously fierce.”
With the trailer arriving on August 31, audiences will soon get their first proper look at this face-off. Daayra is directed by Meghna Gulzar and co-written by her with Yash Keswani and Sima Agarwal.
The film is backed by Junglee Pictures and Dr. Jayantilal Gada (Pen Studios) and will be distributed by Pen Marudhar. Daayra is scheduled to release in theatres on September 18.