While actor John Abraham’s Rehmatulla Ali was an ordinary guy who became a spy when his country needed him, Jackie Shroff plays the chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s external intelligence agency. His character is said to be based on legendary RAW founder Rameshwar Nath (RN) Kao.
A brave-heart, a patriot, a hero! His only existence was to exist for his motherland.
‘Romeo. Akbar. Walter’ releases on 5th April 2019! #RAW pic.twitter.com/azgyCjlgr1— Romeo Akbar Walter (@RomeoAkbarWaltr) March 12, 2019
Shroff’s character is instrumental in recruiting John’s Rehmatulla and turning him into a spy who will report back to India about the goings-on in Pakistan.
Kao had a substantial role in creating RAW. Without the existence of the agency, the Indo-Pak conflict of 1971 might have progressed in a different manner.
In Romeo Akbar Walter, Shroff plays the first chief of the intelligence agency and researched the character he would be playing, even though the real Kao was an intensely private man and was reportedly photographed only twice in his lifetime.
The film, which takes place in the tumultuous period from 1968 to 1971, is based on true events from that era, including the Indo-Pak war of 1971 and the birth of Bangladesh.
Romeo Akbar Walter, which also stars Mouni Roy, Suchitra Krishnamoorthi, Sikander Kher and Raghubir Yadav, will be released on 5 April.