Raid Actor Ajay Devgn reveals insights on making of the thrilling film.
Ajay Devgn plays a tough-as-nails IT officer in ‘Raid’, who investigates one of the most high-profile and controversial cases in recent times. The actor reveals insights on making this thrilling film.
He says, “The film happened because we met this IT officer and realised that there was a great story to be told.
We were toying with the idea of making it for four years, finally, the writer Ritesh Shah narrated the story to me and I loved it.
Then, we got Raj Kumar Gupta (of No One Killed Jessica fame) on board, as he understood the space that this movie is set in.
I have never worked with him before, but he is this quiet and honest guy, who talks about nothing other than the film he is working on.”
‘Raid’ is written by Ritesh Shah (‘Pink’ and ‘Airlift’) and Ajay enjoys his style of screenwriting.
He says, “Ritesh writes dialogues that are not filmi or flowery, but hard-hitting. They don’t sound like… yeh kya line likhi hai, and yet, leave an impact.”
Ajay’s films have always had great and memorable dialogue.But the superstar prefers subtlety over drama.
He explains, “I think that whenever you have a great line, you should deliver it with nonchalance.
By that, I mean that a lot of actors believe that if they have a good dialogue, they should stretch it to make it more dramatic.
I feel that when you deliver such lines subtly, they work out better.
In ‘Raid’, Amay Patnaik is real; he doesn’t become aggressive or resort to violence.
He is not a cop, he is an IT officer who is honest and retaliates silently.”
Ajay Devgn has kept the audience on the edge of their seats with his action roles, made them laugh out loud in his comical avatar and even cry with his emotional characters.
Actor Ajay Devgn looks back at his Bollywood career with contentment — having worked on his own terms and conditions.
Over the years, he diversified from being just an actor to also going behind the scenes as a director and producer.
“Content” with how his journey has shaped up, Ajay says “Whatever I am doing, I am doing it all on my terms and conditions, and that’s what I wanted to do.”
Ajay’s filmography spans action, comedy, romance and drama, and starting with Phool Aur Kaante, he has been lauded for his work in Dilwale, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam,Company, Omkara and Yuva as well as the Golmaal and Singham franchises.
About working in myriad genres, he said: “Everything is tough… Making people laugh is as tough as making people feel for you. So it is really not easy.As an actor, you never think about a genre.”
In Raid, Ajay essays the role of an Income Tax officer hailing from Uttar Pradesh.
The actor, whose own house was once raided in the 1990s, is confident the movie will make people sit up and think about people who are in the Income Tax Department.
“They are so silent and nobody knows about them… Officers like these keep doing their job and we talk about other people, and people who become famous,” he said.
He also said the audience will get to know about what transpires before and during a raid.
“When you see the film, you will come to know what kind of preparation and planning goes before a raid.
So, all that you hear about income tax raids is very simple and very easy, but it’s not an easy thing to do,” Ajay said, adding that while scams and frauds are being heard about more often nowadays, they were “always there”.
As someone who has taken over four cinema halls in Uttar Pradesh to revamp them, Ajay hopes the issue of rising ticket prices in cinema halls can be tackled by the industry.
“I wish ticket prices were reasonable. They are not in my or anybody else’s control, but I wish we could find a way to bring the prices down.
I am myself making theatres where I am keeping a lower range of tickets, but for that, what you need is a whole lot of planning.
“You don’t make a huge multiplex, you make a miniplex. Instead of spending Rs. 1,000 on a tile, you spend Rs. 800 rupees on a tile…
Not that it should look bad, but don’t waste money, so that you can pass on the benefit,” he said.