Raid 2 (2025)

Raid 2 (2025)

Raid 2 also portrays the continuation of the story of an incorruptible IRS officer, Amay Patnaik (Ajay Devgn), in his fight against a new antagonist, Dadabhai (Riteish Deshmukh), in the disguise of a saint.

Relentless Patnaik (Devgn) is the one who is an irritant in the lives of the corrupt. He is the party pooper of the privileged who believe they can run away from the law and therefore, the chemistry and conflict that develop once he starts investigating has an element of comedy-adrenaline. The fact that one cannot demand efficiency or honesty from our servants, not to mention heroism, makes this movie an interesting watch.

Next time, Raj Kumar Gupta tries to do the same crime thriller but on a large scale. A sulky Patnaik in formal wear, savours Singham like slow-motion entry, glamour, and muscle power. He can be transferred or suspended, but he is always in power,r much against the odds. Ritiesh Deshmukh fits the bill of no-nonsense, white collared antihero Dadabhai quite well. He is a reckless son and a generous giver, and a mighty political big gun. He is too good to be true, and that is what makes Patnaik set his eyes on his vast empire and property. The two outwit each other through a set of tricks, but only one comes out as the winner.

Riteish, however, does not overplay the character or his evil aura, which is impressive. He is perfect as the villain of the story. Shukla dishes out some magic when he makes a cameo appearance, but his absence is strongly felt in the show. It was the senior actor who carried the previous film on his shoulders with dialogues and punch lines. His jugalbandi with Devgn added the spark into the film.

Raid 2 continues the story into the 1980s and while paying homage to the first film, it copies it so closely that it loses the entertainment factor. Constant imagery used is a fleet of ambassador cars charging towards a raid. The film is 2 hours and 20 minutes long, and at this time it becomes somewhat weighed down. The first half is laid back, it is in the second half that gets the wit, energy and thrill going for it. Songs interrupt the story.

After this, Gupta continues with the set of actors and writers that he had with him during the first season, except for a couple of them. Ileana D’Cruz has been dropped from the cast and has been replaced by Vaani Kapoor, who plays the character of Malini, wife of Patnaik. Saurabh Shukla is sidelined for the most part to give Ritesh Deshmukh the room to steal the show. Supriya Pathak also joins the new cast in the role of Dadabhai’s mother. One can really have a good laugh, especially at the performance of Amit Sial in the character of ‘Charan chumbak’ Lallan Sudheer Singh.

Ajay Devgn is a cool dude, especially those moments when he walks around with his shades on. He captures the essence of the old-school hero like no other; he just adds swag to it. He also has a good sense of humour, though I must say that he is more inclined to situational comedy. I wish that aspect was explained more here. It also has a number of jokes that poke fun at the boot-lickers and the hoods as it swings between no-frills and old-style dramatic narrative. As for Raid 2, it has the same theme as its predecessor, but it’s taken a little too seriously.