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Filmmaker Karan Johar has announced August 11, 2028 as the theatrical release date for his long-gestating film on Rameshwar Nath Kao, the founder of India’s external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).
Johar announced the date on social media, describing Kao as “The Man, The Myth, The Legend”. He said the film will tell the story of R&AW, its founder and the agency’s first mission.
The filmmaker said the project is based on journalist Nitin Gokhale’s book R.N. Kao: Gentleman Spymaster. “He built the invisible…but history remembers his impact,” Johar wrote, adding that Kao’s story would come to the big screen on August 11, 2028.
The project was first announced in January 2020, when Dharma Productions and Still and Still Media Collective announced plans for a film based on Gokhale’s book.
At the time, the makers described it as the untold story of Kao and said it would explore his role in establishing R&AW and his career in international intelligence.
More than six years after the initial announcement, the film now has a confirmed theatrical release date. However, the makers have yet to reveal the cast, director or other members of the creative team.
Rameshwar Nath Kao (1918-2002) was an Indian intelligence officer and bureaucrat who played a key role in establishing the country’s external intelligence apparatus. Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi appointed him as the founding secretary of R&AW in 1968. Kao headed the agency until 1977.
The film is expected to focus on the formation of R&AW, Kao’s role in building the organisation and its first major mission.
Johar’s project is not the only screen adaptation based on Kao’s life. In 2022, filmmaker Hansal Mehta was announced as the creator and showrunner of an OTT series based on R.K. Yadav’s book Mission R&AW. The series was expected to chronicle Kao’s career and his tenure as the agency’s first chief, but there have been no major updates on the project since its announcement.
Further details about Johar’s film are expected to be announced later.