Mumbai, Aug 27 (IANS) Actress Kareena Kapoor Khan, who is gearing up for the release of “Daayra,” opened up about her experience of working on the project.
She said the film took her to parts of Mumbai and creative spaces she had never explored before. Kareena, who was born and brought up in Mumbai, said that despite having lived in the city all her life and travelling extensively across India, “Daayra” offered her a chance to discover an unfamiliar side of the city.
“I was born in Mumbai. Having lived here all my life; and having travelled extensively across India, I thought I knew most of the city and the country through my life’s journey so far. But the journey of Daayra took me to unseen and unvisited places. And that’s just the geography,” she said. The ‘Jab We Met actress added that the film also pushed her creatively, taking her into areas she had never explored before. She said the experience expanded her social awareness and encouraged her to look beyond a binary understanding of life and society.
“Daayra took my creativity to areas I have never explored before. It took my social awareness to reaches I didn’t know I had. 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.Daayra for me, not only explores that grey…It invades it… it attempts to dismantle it. And that is the irony of Daayra. While it is not binary, not black or white, and is certainly grey.”
“It is also, always dual. At its core Daayra is only about duality. And this duality is entrenched through the two main protagonists of the film. Kareena Kapoor Khan plays DCP Ajooni Kohli. DCP Raman Kumar is portrayed by Prithviraj Sukumaran.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. Because Daayra is a story that is inspired by not one, but several true events that have occurred across our country. Daayra is a story that takes place, not in a particular city or state of India; but does happen almost everywhere and anywhere in our country. That world of Daayra is brought to life by an amazing ensemble cast and an exceptional crew,” added Kareena.
The ‘Udta Punjab’ actress went on to mention, “Daayra unveils an entirely unseen facet of the actor that is Kareena Kapoor Khan. Kareena as Ajooni, is stoic, unreadable. She cracks open situations and people with a smile. 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.So here’s welcoming you to the binary and the grey that is Daayra. There are many questions. Let’s explore the answers together?.”
In the caption, Bebo wrote, “There are films you do, and then there are films that make you sit with things you may not always want to think about. Daayra and becoming ACP Ajooni Kohli, did that for me. At its heart, this film is a reality of the world we live in, but what I love about this film is that Meghna never tells us what to think. She takes us into the grey… into two people who challenge each other, reflect each other and constantly shift the way we see the story.”
“Meghna, I’m so proud of what we’ve made and of the conversation you have chosen to begin with Daayra. Some stories need women behind them, women within them, and all of us willing to listen. Trailer out 31st August. #Daayra in cinemas 18th September,” she concluded.
On a related note, “Daayra,” directed by Meghna Gulzar, features Kareena Kapoor and Prithviraj Sukumaran in lead roles. The film is scheduled to release in theatres on 18 September 2026.
–IANS
ps/