Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn, who has reinvented himself with his varied choice of roles in genres spanning comedy, drama and thrillers, is back in action with Raid, a film set in the 1980s that chronicles the heroism displayed by Income Tax officer Amay Patnaik who was determined to crack down on wealthy men and their ill-gotten wealth. This man was on a mission to wipe out black money from his state.
Loosely based on the real-life raids conducted in Lucknow nearly three decades ago, Devgn claims that Raid was a result of his admiration for the men who orchestrated those covert, well-timed clampdown operations.
“When I read the script of Raid, I was amazed at how these honest man risked their life for their own country. We talk about freedom fighters, but here’s a man who was transferred in his life 49 times and the way he conducted his raids was outstanding,” said Devgn in an interview with Gulf News tabloid!.
Folklore has it that government officials who are morally incorruptible were often slapped with punishment transfers for attempting to hurt the interest of the wealthy men who greased the palms of corrupt officials in the same department. Multiple transfers in an Income Tax officials’ portfolio often indicated that they were honourable men at work.
“Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction… The way they conducted those raids were so interesting… It was a screenplay written by nature. The way these officials acquired all the information and planned raids is just intriguing. I was hooked on to the script,” said Devgn.
As part of the leg work, the actor spent time with the revenue department officials to get an idea about their inner workings. But their non-dramatic nature didn’t exactly lend themselves to drama, but he still got a few hooks to his character.
Directed by Raj Kumar Nanda and written by Ritesh Shah who has worked on films such as Pink and Airlift, Raid comes with the tagline ‘Heroes don’t always come in uniform’ and features a brooding looking Devgn sitting amid piles of black money that he may have unearthed on his job.
“The men are mentally very strong. They are quiet and calm on the outside… But the way I play a character is by thinking like them. The moment you start thinking like the character, then it’s easy to play them,” said Devgn.
While the film will resurrect ’80s Uttar Pradesh that were rocked by a series of sudden raids conducted by a group of brave officials, things are a lot more cleaner in Bollywood claims the actor.
“Those times where producers used black money to fund their films or the time when there was underworld has gone. Everyone working in Bollywood is become corporate and professional and are paying taxes. Everything is more transparent now,” said Devgn.
Ask him about his long-enduring innings in a Khans-dominated Bollywood landscape and Devgan maintains that he stands tall because he has no image attached to him.
“I am someone who has no image attached to me as an actor. I am very lucky on that aspect because I have done films like an action film like Singham, and Golmaal, a comedy, in my career. I was offered different kinds of roles at the right time. I did a film like Zakhm [which earned him a National Award] early on in my career,” said Devgn, who is still enjoying the glory that his mad caper Golmaal 3 garnered recently.
“Trust me, it’s not easy to make people laugh. It’s no joke… I have done the so-called parallel films that have now turned into mainstream films earlier on my career,” said Devgn, adding that his willingness to experiment helped him crack that elusive Bollywood hit formula.
“I don’t know about formula. All I know is that I want to do good films that entertain everyone. Raid is a sensible, entertaining film.”
___
Don’t miss it!
Raid is out in the UAE on March 15.
