Punctuality is seldom adhered to when it comes to Bollywood events and interviews. Hence, this writer was pleasantly surprised when Raid 2 director Raj Kumar Gupta was ready before time and all set to speak about his labour of love. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, the acclaimed director spoke about how Raid 2 is different from Raid (2018), the casting process and a lot more.
EXCLUSIVE: Will Raid 2 cross the Rs. 100 cr mark just like Raid? Raj Kumar Gupta reveals, “We do keep track of collections, but word of mouth is paramount”; opens up on his Stree 2 CONNECTION and mentoring the man behind Bollywood’s BIGGEST hit
You must have come across a lot of stories related to raids, more so after making Raid. How did you lock this particular idea for Raid 2?
When we made the first part, the idea was to give our best to it. It worked thankfully but that doesn’t mean we immediately would plan to make a sequel. However, the love that we got from the people made us realize that we should explore these characters further. Many of us had a plot for the sequel. Even Kumar Mangat Pathak ji had one subject. He happened to tell us way back in 2019 about a particular character. When we met after a few years, I said to him that I still remembered the idea he had shared. Even my wife (Myra Karn) could recall the idea. I told Kumar ji that out of all the ideas we discussed, I was most impressed by it.
Then, writer Ritesh Shah came on board followed by more writers, Jaideep Yadav and Karan Vyas. The four of us jammed and cracked the script. We also got characters from the first part.
You have never repeated your lead actors. But you made an exception with Raid 2. You had worked with Ajay Devgn in Raid and with Riteish Deshmukh, you collaborated in the web series, Pill. How was it to work with them again?
It was once again a pleasure working with Ajay sir. As for Riteish, I had seen his work and moreover, I had worked with him earlier. When we were looking for actors for this character, Riteish was at the top of my mind. I wanted to explore him in this negative character. Thankfully, everything fell into place. I was so glad that he was ready to do it and that he understood the part so well. Of course, there was no doubt that he was a brilliant actor and he could effortlessly get into all kinds of roles, be it comic, thrilling or villainous.
A journalist asked a question at the Raid 2 trailer launch about Vaani Kapoor playing the ‘next wife’ to Ajay Devgn’s character. Is Vaani playing the same character that was essayed by Ileana DCruz in Raid?
Yes, it’s the same character but played by a different actress.
How was Tamannaah Bhatia locked for the song ‘Nasha’?
She was the only choice for the song. The producers and I realized that there was a space for a song. That’s when her name was recommended.
How was it doing a special dance number for the first time in your life?
Yes, I had never done something like that before but it flowed naturally in the film. It was not like we tried to put it forcefully in the narrative.
The character of Amay Patnaik is based on a real-life person. Do you recall the first time you met him before making the first part and how did you convince him to open up?
We were trying to understand the personalities of these officers, the challenges and unusual situations they faced and how they tackled them. But it so happened that later, we also got inspiration from various other characters. So, Amay Patnaik started off as a character inspired by a real-life person. But later, he became an amalgamation of many other real-life personalities. The same happened in No One Killed Jessica (2011). Rani Mukerji’s character represented the entire media.
How did real-life officers react when they saw Raid? Did they share feedback with you?
They were happy that there was a cinematic representation of the good work that they do. They also told me that the timeline we explored in the film was quite dangerous. Often, when they went to rural areas, they used to get attacked. We showed that in Raid as well; it was not out of imagination; it used to happen for real. We often hear about these people and even see them. But they don’t get represented on screen. Hence, they felt glad there was recognition for the hard work they do.
Raid crossed the Rs. 100 crore mark. Do you take the box office seriously and are you praying that Raid 2 also enters the Rs. 100 crore club?
When we released Raid, we had no idea that it would collect Rs. 100 crores because it was a new territory for all of us. We were happy that it was appreciated in the form that it came in. People had not seen the process of conducting a raid. 70-80% of the film was set inside the house. This was unusual and new for the audience. We were not sure how the audience would react. Thankfully, it was loved and also crossed the Rs. 100 crore mark. With Raid 2, I’ll first hope that people appreciate it. We do keep track of collections but word of mouth is paramount for me.
Raid 2 will be different from Raid. The first part was about an inward raid. This one is outward! We have shot in Delhi, Lucknow and Rajasthan. I hope it gets the same kind of love from people.
Stree 2 director Amar Kaushik worked under you and now he’s in a different league. How do you feel seeing his super-success?
I feel great (smiles). He came in Aamir (2008) as an intern. Then, in No One Killed Jessica and Ghanchakar, he was the associate director. He made his debut with a short film, Aaba. We had produced it. It won a lot of awards and it became his showreel. He is a very hard-working and talented guy. Now, he has the highest-grossing film in Hindi cinema; it makes me very happy that somebody who has worked with me has achieved dizzying heights.
You played a major role in mentoring him…
I trusted him and took him on board. But he also had the talent. He was also hard-working.
I am also happy about other assistants who have become directors. We launched Jaideep Yadav as a director with Pill. He’s also the co-writer on Raid 2. It’s important to help assistants who are talented. That’s how we’ll get newer filmmakers and the industry will move ahead.
Any plans to make Raid 3?
Let’s release Raid 2 first (smiles). For a filmmaker, it’s very important that your films get a timely release and public reaction is positive. The film took 2 ½ years of my time. We wrote this film for 1 ½ years though it’s based on a real-life story. This time, we have tried to bring in a lot of fictional elements as well.
But I am sure you have a couple of scripts ready…
Yes, I do. I’ll take a call after Raid 2. Actually, I do know what I want to make but then you know how things are. There are so many factors which need to fall in place. You may want to make a film on a particular script but you’ll end up doing something else.
Also Read: Rohit Shetty praises Ajay Devgn’s Raid 2 trailer: “BLOCKBUSTER LOADING”
More Pages: Raid 2 Box Office Collection
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