Raid Movie Review: Ajay Devgn, Saurabh Shukla And Pushpa Joshi Make It Engrossing!

Starring :           Ajay Devgn, Ileana D'Cruz , Saurabh Shukla

Directed by:  Raj Kumar Gupta

Raid is directed by Raj Kumar Gupta who has given us gems like Aamir and No One Killed Jessica. Let's see what his new film is all about.

Raid is the story of a brave income tax (IT) officer called Amay Patnaik (Ajay Devgn) who is honest to the core. He has had 49 transfers in his job, the last one being to Lucknow. In the city of Nawabs, he causes a stir with his honest presence. Rameshwar Singh aka Tauji (Saurabh Shukla) is particularly perturbed. Right from the beginning, the Amay vs Tauji battle is on and it continues till the end. On a tip-off, Amay carries out an IT raid at Tauji's house for days on end, without fear of the man or the powers that be. Amay shows great courage in tackling authorities and even the prime minister of the country, while ensuring the safety of his team that is carrying out the risky raid.

Raid's scenes are well-written and some dialogues very convincing, while others fall flat. But it is not playing to the gallery with line after line that happened in the Manoj Bajpayee-Sidharth Malhotra film Aiyaary. Raid, like its protagonist, is honest to goodness. It will manage to create an impression on young minds who have no idea about income tax evasion and hidden money.

The film shows an authentic era of the 1980s, with no mobile phones and elegant homes. It is a clean entertainer with less songs and can be watched with the whole family. This will help the film at the box office and it looks like it will definitely recover its cost of making that is Rs 35 crore.

What will also work in the movie's favour is the current scenario in the country. People of the current ruling party or their tribe love to bash Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, and the alleged corrupt practices during the regime of the Indian National Congress (INC) over the years. Youngsters watching Raid with me loved the film and how it portrayed the income tax evasion of the 1980s and the subsequent raid on the corrupt politician's house, with a specific mention of the 'Swiss Bank account'. 

But the film also shows a prime minister, very similar to PM Indira Gandhi, the daughter of Nehru, as taking a firm stand against the corrupt Rameshwar and indirectly supporting and saving Patnaik.

The proceedings can be drab. Considering the attention span of viewers in the age of social media, the cellphones will be out at some moments in the film.

There are certain characters in Raid that stay with you. Two of those are the main characters of Amay Patnaik and Tauji. And then there is the Amma (Tauji's mother), a grandma who steals the show from Ajay Devgn and Saurabh Shukla! She is portrayed by an 85-year-old real-life granny from Lucknow, and her name is Pushpa Joshi. Raid is her debut film and she shines through. You will remember her well after the film. We wish she had more scenes or lines.

Ileana D'Cruz as Malini, the wife of Patnaik is sweet and nice in most moments but shows her courageous side when she is attacked. We wish this actor gets a better role next time though. 

Verdict: Watch it if you like thrillers based on real life and that are not violent. Raid releases 16th March, 2018.

Rating: 3 / 5 (Three stars out of five)