Will Hrithik Roshan play RN Kao as Karan Johar revives film after six years

Highlights:

• Karan Johar first announced the film in January 2020.
• The project is based on Nitin Gokhale’s R.N. Kao: Gentleman Spymaster.
• Dharma Productions has now set an August 11, 2028 release.
• The story will explore R&AW’s origins and its first major mission.
• The six-year gap has never been publicly explained in detail.

Karan Johar has revived a film that many may have assumed had quietly disappeared.

The filmmaker first announced a biopic on Rameshwar Nath Kao, the founder of India’s external intelligence agency, in January 2020. Six years later, the project has suddenly resurfaced with a theatrical release date: August 11, 2028.

The announcement raises an obvious question for anyone who followed the project when it was first revealed: what happened during those six years?

The film that vanished after its 2020 announcement

In January 2020, Johar announced that Dharma Productions would adapt Nitin Gokhale’s book R.N. Kao: Gentleman Spymaster. At the time, he described it as a story about the real-life Indian spymaster and the creation of R&AW, India’s foreign intelligence agency.

As reported by India Today in January 2020, Johar wrote: “Turning pages into frames, one thrill at a time. Bringing to you an adaptation of Nitin Gokhale’s book - R.N. Kao: Gentleman Spymaster to the silver screen. More information coming soon!”

And then, for years, there was little public movement.

There is no publicly documented explanation from Johar in the sources reviewed for this story that directly accounts for the six-year gap. Early reports did not provide a production timeline either. One 2020 report said Hrithik Roshan had been approached for the role of Kao, but noted that he had not signed the project.

So why is it back now?

The new announcement provides one important clue.

Johar says Leo Media Collective has been researching and developing the story for the past two years. He described the revived project as a major screen adaptation of Kao’s life, his work in the shadows and the creation of the organization that became R&AW.

In his latest statement, Johar said:

“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 RAW and honour their milestone year with a solid motion picture … all of us at Dharma are so excited to get going."

That suggests the project has undergone a significant development phase, but it does not explain what happened between the original 2020 announcement and the more recent research effort.

What Karan Johar originally said

The most direct earlier comment available from Johar remains his January 2020 announcement rather than a later interview.

At the time, the filmmaker presented the project as an adaptation of Gokhale’s book and promised more information. Hindustan Times also reported the announcement on January 9, 2020, identifying it as Johar’s next production project.

Other contemporary reports repeated the same announcement. Cinema Express reported that the biographical drama would follow Kao’s rise in international espionage, while The Times of India reported that the film was being positioned as the untold story of the real-life spymaster.

Beyond those early comments, the sources reviewed do not show a substantial Johar interview in which he explains the project's long absence.

Why R.N. Kao's story?

For American audiences unfamiliar with the name, Rameshwar Nath Kao was the founding chief of R&AW, India's foreign intelligence agency. R&AW is broadly comparable to a country’s external intelligence service; unlike India's domestic Intelligence Bureau, its focus is on intelligence gathered outside the country.

Kao became R&AW's first chief in 1969 and remained in the position until 1977. The film is expected to cover the years leading to the agency's creation and its first major mission during the 1971 war involving India and Pakistan.

The story is based on Gokhale's 2019 book R.N. Kao: Gentleman Spymaster.

The 2028 date finally makes the six-year mystery more interesting

The film is now scheduled for August 11, 2028, with Dharma Productions and Leo Media Collective behind the project. The date also places the release around R&AW's 60th anniversary, according to the new announcement.

For now, the cast, director and other major production details remain undisclosed.

That is what makes this revival particularly intriguing. A project announced with considerable attention in 2020 went largely quiet, only to return six years later with a firm theatrical date and a much more ambitious description.

Karan Johar first said, “More information coming soon.”

Six years later, the information has finally arrived. What still remains hidden is the story of what happened in between.