Filmmaker Raj Kumar Gupta says that he was woven for the “raid” franchise in many Hindi cinema classics of the 1970s and 1980s, which was titled by Ajay Devgan. The franchise follows the story of Ami Patnaik (Devgan), an honest officer who goes after powerful people and conducts income tax raids to track white collar crimes.
The director, known for films like “Aamir”, “No One Killed Jessica”, has huge posters of prestigious films “Dewar” and “Sholay” in their office in suburban Mumbai, but the motivations behind the “raid” films were far more diverse.
“There were many films in the 70s and 80s, where honest characters were fighting people who were corrupt or who were going against the law. There are many films that inspired us. I would not like to name a particular film.
In an interview, Gupta told PTI, “So, this honest officer (in ‘Red’ franchise) intended was like 70 and 80s films.”
He said that inspiration for characters and story also comes from real life.
He said, “You see a lot of honest officers working in government departments and what they have to do when they are doing their work.”
The first “Red” film, which was released in 2018, became a blockbuster on its release. 1981 Set in Lucknow, the film was based on a real-life case and after Patnaik, he led a high-raid raid on corrupt politician Rameshwar Singh (Saurabh Shukla).
Gupta recently came out with the second part, titled “Raid 2”. The film released in theaters on May 1 has increased more than Rs 160 crore at the box office.
In the film, Devgan’s character returns to his 75th raid, this time targeting Dada Manohar Bhai (Ritish Deshmukh), a revered politician at the Rajasthan banquet.
Despite facing suspension during the operation, Patnaik, with the support of his wife Malini (Wani Kapoor) and her team, exposes the hidden black money.
The director said that he is “elit” with a sequel’s response.
“I am glad that the film is really good. For us, as storytellers, this is a challenge post epidemic where people are not coming to theaters. If a film comes together, and people watch it in those numbers and see it, it is really heartbreaking, it is not only the heart, not only as a filmmaker but also as an industry.”
“I am glad that people are watching the film in totality for their story, cast and everything, besides a legacy of a ‘raid’,” he said.
He is also grateful to veteran screenwriter Salim Khan, who liked the first film and suggested him a scene that distracts him and his team to attack him and his team to throw money on a crowd to include Devgan’s character.
The filmmaker said he was able to include the sequence in the sequel.
“Salim Saheb is a legend. I met him in 2021 and said that he liked the film. He visited the end of the ‘raid’, and I kept it in my mind. I never thought I would be able to use it, but as it would be in luck, there was a scene where we could include it in ‘raids’ (two).
“During the research of ‘Red 2’, we came to light that in the 80s, 90s, which was the threat, when they were going on a raid, they were angry with the crowd of politicians or powerful people, on which they raided. Mostly, they attacked by these people during the 80s or 90s.”
“Red 2” ends with a hint in a third installment as Rameshwar Singh has proposed an alliance with Dada Bhai inside the jail.
When asked about the plans for the third part, Gupta said that he would not make it until he has a compelling story.
“When this happens, someone will know about it. Nothing can be employed right now. I want to stay in the moment and let ‘the raid 2’ get out of my system. This world is very interesting … Parts one and part two in part three has a natural progress. But come up with the right story.” “RAID 2” is supported by Bhushan Kumar, Krishna Kumar, and Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek Pathak respectively under his banners T-series and Panorama Studio.
(This report has been published as part of an auto-linked syndicated wire feed. Except for the headline, the material has not been modified or edited by ABP Live.)
