Raid is a just released film based on real life incidents. The men leading from behind the camera, are the director Raj Kumar Gupta and the Writer Ritesh Shah.
The cast leading in front of the camera are Ajay Devgn, Saurabh Shukla, Illeana D’cruz, Gayathri Iyer and Saanand Verma. Supporting the main cast, the movie also features renowned theatre artists from Lucknow giving the story a more credible and realistic touch.
With a fearless income tax officer holding ground in the centre, the story revolves around his raids conducted in the houses of powerful but dishonest taxpayers.
The movie has managed to garner a 8/10 rating on IMDb.
Critical reviews
The critics at Bollywood Hungama, have certified that Raid is on the whole a very hard hitting and realistic thriller, right till the end. They predict the film to do well and will go on to win accolades. It is definitely a must watch.
Rachit Gupta of Times of India, on reviewing the film, gives credit to the director Raj Kumar Gupta, for handling the film well. It is a film that caters to the public sentiment against corruption and black money.
Anna MM Vetticad from Firstpost, in her review of Raid says that it is just the right length considering the written material it is based on, at just about 128 minutes. On the face of it, it could be said that Devgn has played precisely this part countless times in his 27 year long career, that of a rigid and severe straight man with in a broken system, doing his work truthfully against all odds no matter what – and yet there is a difference in how he portrays it. Deserving credit are the realism and Gupta’s unembellished directorial style are what make Raid such a great experience. This is not the kind of movie that you might expect to set your pulses racing, but it is precisely the reaction that Raid achieves in its closing scenes. Raid is not regular Bollywood film and yet it is thoroughly entertaining.
The famous film critic, Taran Adarsh, gives the film 4 stars. In his one word film review on twitter he called Raid, Superb.
Story of Raid
Ajay Devgn, plays the role of a fearless Income Tax officer, Amay Pandey, who has been transferred from time to time for his honesty and integrity. The movie starts with his transfer to Lucknow and how he plans a raid at a powerful business man’s house on the basis of a tip he receives mysteriously.
Star Performance
Ajay Devgn is not called a stellar performer for no reason. He has proved his versatility over and over again and his performance in Raid does just that. The two time National Film Award winning actor does the brooding intensity character better than most, putting in just the right amount of vulnerability making his character as Amay Patnaik, Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, in Lucknow, relatable.
Ileana Dcruz, as Patnaik’s wife gets limited screen time, yet achieving what the character needs to for the progression of the storyline. She plays it well doing justice to it, playing the supporting wife to a sometimes exasperatingly upright husband with just a slight note of amusement.
Saurabh Shukla as Tauji is the anchor of the brilliantly put together supporting cast, pervading the character with fascinating shades of grey.
Sheeba Chadha as one of the daughter in laws of Tauji’s household and Amit Sial as Amay’s colleague are among the multitude of players imparting crucial detailing to their respective characters’ debatable morality.
Thankfully, none of the bad folk here are caricatures and one of the most enjoyable parts of Raid is Tauji’s relationship with his brusque, wizened old mother.
Direction and Music Review of Raid
Director Raj Kumar Gupta had made a splendid debut with the Rajeev Khandelwal starrer, 2008 thriller, Aamir. His second film, No One Killed Jessica (2011), starring Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan, too, garnered appreciation from all sides. Gupta’s realistic directorial style is what makes Raid a enthralling experience.
The Music of Raid has received mixed reviews. In line with the ongoing trend in Bollywood, the movie’s music tracks carry remakes of older songs too. Tanishk Bagchi gives a fresh appeal to the ghazal ‘Sanu Ik Pal’ originally a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan composition. Lyricist Manoj Muntashir tweaks the lyrics a little but has mostly stuck to the old world charm. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan lends his melodious vocals to this song.
Baagchi, has taken a yet another old melody, ‘Nit Khair Manga’, and shaken up things in an attempt to match it with the music of today. This song though has not received an audience in the musical ears of today.
‘Black’, the third song, can be alternatively called the title song. Complementing the central narrative of the film beautifully, in terms of the tempo, mood and lyrics. Indraneel does a proficient job with the lyrics making the song sound like an anthem of the Income Tax department.
The fourth and last song of the album is ‘Jhuk Na Paunga’, sung by Papon. It makes for a perfect introductory song to Devgn’s character. His resolve to bring to task tax evaders for what it is worth, is reflected in Indraneel’s suggestive lyrics. It is a song, as though, with a purpose. Amit Trivedi’s composition is soothing striking a balance between western and Indian classical instruments.
On the whole, the music of Raid hits gold in its original compositions. While the remakes of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan are good versions in themselves, it is high time Bollywood stops relying on old songs to churn music when we have such immensely talented composers like Amit Trivedi amidst them.
Box Office Collection of the Movie
Released on 16th of March, 2018, this film has earned a total of Rs.60.39 crores in the opening week itself. The movie seems to be slowly rising the popularity charts thanks to the positive word of mouth publicity. It remains to be seen if the movie will do well once Rani Mukherjee’s Hitchki hits the theatres.
Trivia and ratings of the Movie
Raid is inspired by a true story about money laundering.
While there is no official statement from the film makers, Raid is said to revolve around the story of Sharda Prashad Pandey, an income tax commissioner in Lucknow, who had raided the house of businessman Sardar Inder Singh in 1981 and recovered assets worth Rs 1.60 crore. The raid is said to have continued for 18 hours with 45 people present only for counting notes.
The movie has been made on a big budget of Rs 55 crore.
Raid has been shot over three months only, what is probably the shortest time span for a shooting schedule for Ajay Devgn .
Raid also marks the second time collaboration of Ileana D’Cruz with Ajay Devgn after Baadshaho.
This is the third film for Illeana Dcruz to be set in a different decade. The earlier ones being Rustom (2016) set in the 1950s and Baadshaho (2017) in the 1970s.
Since it was a film based in the 1980s period there were glimpses of that time’s Prime Minister of India Late Mrs Indira Gandhi, without showing her face explicitly.
Set in the 1980s, Raid is based on one of the most high profile raids the country has ever known and is being said to be India’s first film on income tax raids.
The trailer has garnered more than 30 million views on youtube and earned 4 out of 5 stars on Bookmyshow and a rating of 8 out of 10 on IMDb.
Conclusion
Raid, is a must watch for one and all because even though the corruption never seems to cease, the belief to fight it and win over the war against black money hoarders is still strong. Watch it for Ajay Devgn’s intensity and Saurabh Shukla’s brilliant performance. Make the most of the Ticketnew offers available on the website, and enjoy the wide range of discounts on the movie ticket bookings of Raid.