Dharma and Leo Media plan R N Kao spy film for August 2028

Karan Johar's Dharma Productions will team with Leo Media Collective for a theatre feature about Rameshwar Nath Kao, the founder of India's Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), its external intelligence organisation. The untitled film is aiming for Aug. 11, 2028, timed for the Indian Independence Day holiday weekend. The partnership, subject and date were detailed by Variety on Sept. 21, 2026.

The timing was deliberate. The announcement fell 58 years after R&AW was established in 1968 as India's primary foreign intelligence service. The planned 2028 release would land close to the agency's 60th anniversary, according to Variety.

The project has had a long runway. Dharma first outlined a Kao film in early 2020, when Indian press reports linked the company with Still And Still Media Collective for a story about the spymaster also known as RN Kao, as reported by Indian Express. Six years on, the active version is described as in development, the early stage where a script is worked up before a shoot is greenlit, with Leo Media Collective as partner.

The film draws on Nitin Gokhale's book "Gentleman Spymaster," given in earlier reporting under its full title "RN Kao: Gentleman Spymaster," as reported by Firstpost. The screen story spans 1955 to 1971. It traces the build-up to R&AW's formation and its first mission during the 1971 war against Pakistan, according to Variety.

Little else is locked. Variety reports an A-list actor is attached to star, without naming the performer. No director, cast or other key credits have been disclosed. The report had placed the start of production by mid-2026.

The Kao film reunites Dharma and Leo Media Collective after two recent cinema releases. The companies previously worked together on "Bad Newz" (2024) and "Kesari: Chapter 2" (2025), according to Variety.

For fans, this means a wait. The date is set. The central figure is set. Everything else, from director to lead, is still to be announced.