The Ajay Devgn, Ileana D’Cruz and Saurabh Shukla starrer Raid is hitting the theatres on March 16. Touted as the first Bollywood project to be based on an Income Tax raid, Raid is helmed by director Raj Kumar Gupta. Set in the 80s, Raid explores how one of the country’s most high-profile and longest raids was executed by a fearless IT Officer. Ajay Devgn's last cinematic outing Golmaal Again was one of the highest-earning movies of 2017 but his role as Amay Patnaik in Raid is going to be starkly different from his previous comic ones. Will his serious act be able to pull enough viewers to the theatres? Trade and film analyst Girish Johar said, "Raid is expected to open to a collection of Rs 8-8.5 crore on Friday. Despite the fact that Raid is being headlined by an A-lister like Ajay Devgn, it does not have the 'masala' Bollywood kind of appeal for audiences. Raid's box-office success largely depends on its word-of-mouth promotion in the coming days." Talking about the weekend collection, Girish added, "The weekend collection of Raid could go up to Rs 26-28 crore and even more if the makers bring good content to the table. Director Raj Kumar Gupta, who has helmed films like Aamir and No One Killed Jessica among others, is known in the industry for making films that deliver a strong message." While Raid will have a solo release at the theatres on March 16, it does face competition from previous releases like Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety and Pari. While Luv Ranjan's rom-com has maintained a steady hold at the box office with its light-hearted content, Anushka Sharma's Pari is also performing well in some specific pockets.
