Karan Johar Sets R&AW Founder Rameshwar Nath Kao Film for 2028 Release

Karan Johar‘s Dharma Productions is teaming with Leo Media Collective on a theatrical feature about Rameshwar Nath Kao, founder of India’s Research and Analysis Wing, targeting an Aug. 11, 2028 release timed to the Indian Independence Day holiday weekend.

R&AW, India’s primary external intelligence agency, was established in 1968 to consolidate the country’s foreign intelligence operations, which had previously been handled by the Intelligence Bureau.

The untitled film is currently in development. The announcement was made on Sept. 21, marking 58 years since R&AW’s founding, with the makers eyeing the 2028 release date to coincide with the agency’s 60th anniversary. The project was initially announced in early 2020.

“Leo media has painstakingly been researching and dramatising this narrative with passion 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,” Johar said.

The espionage actioner is based on Nitin Gokhale’s book “Gentleman Spymaster,” with production slated to begin by mid-2026. Casting, director and other key details have not been disclosed, though an as yet unnamed A-list actor is attached to lead the project.

The story spans 1955 to 1971, tracing the lead-up to R&AW’s formation and its first mission during the 1971 war against Pakistan. Kao is widely regarded within Indian intelligence circles as a formative figure in the country’s espionage apparatus, with successive R&AW chiefs having credited his strategic approach.

The project marks a reunion between Dharma Productions and Leo Media Collective following “Bad Newz” (2024) and “Kesari: Chapter 2” (2025). It also continues Dharma’s run of films drawn from real events and figures, including “Kesari,” “Raazi” and “Shershaah.”