Breaking down Raid 2 with Raj Kumar Gupta: Saurabh Shukla as narrator, VP Singh’s hat, and how Salim Khan suggested the ‘money shot’

Raid had a pressure cooker environment to its advantage. Was it a concern that spreading out in Raid 2 would dilute the tension?

I’d already done a setup like Raid. So I wanted a different arrangement in Raid 2 so that it’s not too familiar. The story of Raid 2 led to an outside world. It demands the characters to go out and explore different places. So I just followed the story and tried to be true to it.

With Ajay Devgn.

What do you think makes Amay Patnaik different from other morally upright officers that Ajay Devgn has played in other franchises like Singham and Drishyam?

These upright characters suit him really well. Amay Patnaik is from a different government department, the world is very different, the jurisdictions and limitations are very different. Singham is slightly more aggressive and macho. In Drishyam, he plays a father and a family man. In Raid, he has to challenge the limitations of his own department. In Singham, the character is allowed to jump into action. But in Raid, that won’t be the case because you’re not allowed to carry arms. You can just have police protection, if needed.

Not many directors have cast Riteish Deshmukh as the villain, thanks to his popularity as a comic actor. How were you convinced to cast him in Raid 2?

Riteish has been working in the film industry for 22 years. He’s mostly known for his comic roles, but he has great range. He’s played the villain (Ek Villain, 2014). He’s played the lead in Marathi films (Ved, 2022). I had the opportunity to work with him last year in a series called Pill. I like working with him so I thought I’d love to work with him again.

How did you ensure Riteish Deshmukh made for a different villain than Tauji (Saurabh Shukla in Raid)?

It’s interesting that while promoting Raid 2, Riteish told me he hadn’t watched Raid. I just assumed he would have. Once he decided to play the character, he decided not to see because his character is very different from Tauji’s in Raid. So I didn’t have anything to do with him not watching Raid. Also, I remember him telling me, “I’m not the villain in Amay Patnaik’s story. But he’s the villain of my story.” He’s risen from nowehere. He’s building his own life, doing his own thing, before someone tries to come in his way.

With Riteish Deshmukh.

Why did you decide to have Tauji as the narrator in Raid 2?

Because he was such a loved character. We felt it’d be great to bring characters like him and Lallan Sudheer back. But for the longest time, we couldn’t figure how to. Because Tauji’s story ended in Raid. But somehow, we were able to. Somewhere, we wanted him to come face-to-face with Amay Patnaik. Tauji has such lingering feelings and power dynamics that we were able to involve him in the scenes towards the end of the film. He’s just having fun!

Lallan Sudheer is the tedhi ungli through which Amay Patnaik extracts the ghee. How did you build his character in the sequel?

Lallan was established the way he is in the first part. He had that ambiguity, that corrupt shade. So we built it step by step how we introduce him and how we disguise him. We expected people will like this character as much as they did in the first part, but the character really took off! Credit also goes to Amit Sial because he’s such a fabulous actor that it’s a pleasure to just keep looking at it.

With Saurabh Shukla.

Unlike Ileana D’Cruz’s character in Raid, Vaani Kapoor’s helps out her husband Amay Patnaik with his investigation in Raid 2. Why did you decide to get her involved?

It wasn’t done purposely. Wives get involved in their husbands’ work, sometimes even reluctantly because it’s such an emotional, family set-up. One can’t separate the personal and the professional irrespective of how much one tries. It just felt sensitive to have her take care of that part of the investigation while he takes care of the other one.

Tauji’s mother was also much-loved in the first part. What did you have in mind while crafting Supriya Pathak’s character, Riteish Deshmukh’s mother?

It organically came into the story. Pushpa Joshi ji, who passed away, was fondly referred to as Amma or Dadi in the first part. In Raid 2, it’s a much younger character. She came up when we were exploring the family dynamics of the politician character.

With Vaani Kapoor.

Raid was remade in Telugu as Mr. Bachchan last year, and starred Ravi Teja as the IT officer. What did you think of it?

I haven’t watched it. Incidentally, out of five of my films, two have been remade — Aamir in Tamil (Aal, 2014) and Raid in Telugu. Of course, I’m happy that something I’ve created has appealed to another set of audiences and filmmakers and they decided to replicate them.

In Raid, we see then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi pop up towards the end. In Raid 2, there’s then-PM VP Singh, who just keeps his hat on the ringing telephone to ghost Riteish Deshmukh’s character. How did you come up with that?

That was a very improvised moment. Of course, he can pick up the phone. So while shooting, I was thinking how do I show the rejection. Interestingly, that shot took 20 takes because that hat was just not settling on the old-style telephone. It kept slipping. So it became the shot that I’ve taken the maximum takes for.

In Raid, Tauji says that bheed ko kabhi saza nahi mili hai (a mob is never penalized). In the sequel, we see the IT officers beat the raging mob by throwing money at them, with ‘Paisa Yeh Paisa’ from Karz (1980) playing in the background. How did you come up with that?

I had that idea in mind ever since Salim Khan suggested it to me after the success of Raid. I was blown away by the idea that the IT officer can throw money at the mob to distract them. But I thought that in the first part, because of the character’s journey and how it was paced, the end was appropriate. But the suggestion itself was so great that I thought in case the situation arises, we’d use it. I never thought it would. It just came together. After taking a shot, it struck me that we can use ‘Paisa Yeh Paisa.’ So I ran to my DOP and suggested that. He said, “It’s a brilliant idea!” So we did the shot breakdown accordingly.

Also Read — Amit Sial on love for Raid 2, Kesari 2: ‘Instant reactions in theatres are a different high altogether’

The climax of Raid 2 leaves us with a promise of Dadabhai and Tauji teaming up together. Any plans for Raid 3 then?

(Laughs) Even when Raid happened, we didn’t know there’d be a Raid 2. So I don’t know. I know there’s a promise one has taken from the visual representation of the last shot, but let Raid 2 get out of the system first.