Shabana Azmi on USA v Raj: `Chronicles Dr Rajendra Bothra`s long legal battle`

When Shabana Azmi described the story of her next, USA v Raj, as “fab”, it naturally caught our attention. Directed by famed cinematographer Ravi K Chandran, the Indo-British co-production tells the story of Dr Rajendra Bothra, a celebrated surgeon in the US who was accused of fraud and faced 54 federal charges at age 79, before being cleared by a unanimous jury verdict in June 2022. While Kabir Bedi plays the protagonist, Azmi essays the role of his wife Pammi Bothra, and Emily Shah, their daughter Sonia.

“Dr Bothra was advised by all lawyers to plead guilty. His attorneys told him if he didn’t do so, he would die in prison. He said, ‘So be it. It’s the question of my honour, my family’s honour and that of the country I come from.’ The odds of a possible win were only 0.3 per cent, but he fought back. He spent three-and-a-half years in jail! Then he was acquitted on every single charge,” shared Azmi, when we got on a call with her.

USA v Raj went on floors in London in October 2025. With a chunk of the legal drama completed, the director is now planning the last leg in India and aiming for a summer 2026 release. The movie chronicles how in 2018, at a time when the US was witnessing a significant increase in opioid use and addiction, the surgeon was accused of further fuelling it. 

To Azmi, the film depicts not only Bothra’s integrity, but also the determination of Pammi, who didn’t let her health complications shake her as she stood by her husband during the legal battle. “His wife and their daughter Sonia took on the responsibility to set him free,” marvelled the senior actor. She added that during the two-month shoot, the husband-wife duo would be on the set every day. “I got along very well with Pammi.” 

The actor has a busy line-up in 2026. Besides USA v Raj, she will be seen in Awarapan 2 and more. “I am also doing a film produced by Mukesh Chhabra. There are three more projects in the pipeline.”