Ritesh Desmukh in Raid 2

Ritesh Desmukh’s avatar of a crooked and suave politician under the guise of a philanthropist is the most interesting part of this Rajkumar Gupta directorial. Ritesh once again proves that he is a very capable actor who can go beyond comic roles. Saurabh Shukla returns back as Tauji and the veteran actor is a complete hoot with his sarcastic humor and punch lines.

Starcast: Ajay Devgan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Vani Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla, Amit Sial and others

Genre: Crime thriller

Director and writer: Rajkumar Gupta

Additional writers: Ritesh Shah, Karan Vvyas and Jaideep Yadav

Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar and others

Production Companies: T- Series Films and Panorama Studios

Music: Amit Trivedi, Rochchak Kohli etc.

Cinematography: Sudhir K. Chaudhary

Running time: 2 hours and 18 minutes

One way to describe the Raid movies is utopian tales of social justice, the reason being in today’s age honest income tax officers conducting raids on powerful people is a distant dream. Many are aware about the manipulative nature of the investigative departments and the way they have been used by the ruling party. In that sense both the Raid movies are more of aspirational tales on how an income tax officer should actually be like. Ajay Devgan as Amay Patnaik fits the bill perfectly given his larger-than-life image and also a solid presence.

Raid 2 primarily focuses on the Amay Patnaik’s 75th raid. In the initial portions of the movie Amay is accused of corruption charges. However this just turns out to be a facade on expected lines. Amay is actually collecting information on Ritesh Deshmukh’s Dada Bai, a suave politician with the image of a benevolent man. The local population of Bhoj considers Dada Bai as their god but beneath the philanthropist facade Dada Bai is actually a crooked politician with multiple crimes. The story focuses on the various hurdles faced by Amay Patnaik in bringing out the truth of Dada Bai with the help of certain people like Amit Sial’s Lallan Sudhir.

A major strength of Raid 2 is the battle of wits between Ajay and Ritesh Desmukh. The way Dada Bai outsmarts Amay Patnaik in the first half gives the movie some of its best moments. Ritesh presents a very calm demeanor systematically destroying all the evidence. The first half ends with Amay being suspended, also his reputation of a honest income tax officer goes for a toss.

Ritesh Desmukh as Dada bai is more of a sophisticated politician who doesn’t get his hands dirty but gets the work done through his men. This works as an interesting contrast to Saurabh Shukla’s Tauji who was more rustic. Also, the duality in the characterization of Dada Bai has come out well. This can be particularly seen in the way he worships his mother every morning by washing her feet. The mother played by Supriya Pathak considers her son to be an epitome of virtue when the actual reality is different.

It’s a long time since Ritesh has done something outside comedy and the actor does a very good job in portraying the different facets of Dada Bai. The way he exudes menace mostly through the eyes is brilliant to watch. Raid 2 once again shows Ritesh’s ability in adapting to different characters. This is another impactful performance from the actor who has proved that he is capable of doing more than just comedies, easily Ritesh’s best work post EK Villain.

Mention must also be made of Saurabh Shukla and Amit Sial, they contribute to some very entertaining moments. Saurabh Shukla is an absolute hoot with his punch lines; specific mention must be made of the scenes where Tauji takes pleasure in the downfall of Dada Bai. Amit Sial too makes his presence amply felt with his witty one liners. He plays the eccentric nature of Lallan Sudhir perfectly raising ample chuckles.

Amit Sial as Lallan Sudhir

A major problem with Raid 2 is the familiar beats coupled with Ajay Devgan’s characterization. There isn’t much of an upgrade to the role, as a result there is nothing new that Ajay brings to the table. Of course, the actor slips into the role with practiced ease, the serious gaze and the overall body language helps. However, there is a stale nature to his scenes because as viewers you know that Amay is completely pure and will win the battle.

Vani Kapoor also doesn’t add much to the proceedings other than looking gorgeous. Unlike Ileana she gets more to do but the romantic track and the overall arc doesn’t contribute anything significant to the movie. Supriya Pathak as the naive mother who later gets to know of the reality about her son fares much better.

Vani Kapoor as the supportive wife

Songs come across as more of speed breakers; however Tammana does look sizzling hot in the special number Nasha. The actress exudes a lot of sensuousness with her belly moves. Having said that the remixed version of “Paise Ye Paise” from Karz movie does make an impact. The placement of the song is absolutely perfect.

Watch Raid 2 if you are in the mood for a utopian tale of social justice and Ritesh Deshmukh’s acting