Although there isn’t a sutradhaar (narrator) in Raid 2, Saurabh Shukla’s character Tau, a charming and stubbly prisoner, makes frequent appearances to reveal shocking information.

For example, “Lamba kheloge” is spoken to a suckling police officer in prison. Girdhari, chaato, chaatne ki kala hai [tumme]!

pointing out that a certain method to identify a mediocre subordinate is if they constantly praise their alleged superior to make up for their lack of skill.

He also implies that politicians are never apprehended for their misdeeds. Unless it’s a covert operation. Other than being unconnected to the rest of the movie, who is this Tau?

You will need to have a strong memory of Raj Kumar Gupta’s Raid (2018), which is the film’s prelude.

It mostly dealt with an income tax (IT) raid that caught a prominent UP don in Lucknow in 1981. Saurabh Shukla (Rameshwar Singh/Rajaji/Tau) was that person.

The attack, which described what may still be the longest IT raid on a private person, was based on a factual tale. Raid 2 doesn’t seem to be based on a real episode, but I may be mistaken. Or maybe many of them; at least not one such.

Naturally, Ajay Devgn’s role as the IT detective, pursuing illicit funds while being concealed by a well-known and well-liked politician from the heartland, is what unites them. Eight years have passed since then. VP Singh is clearly the prime minister (in the first section, it was Indira Gandhi).

It seems that the main character has a new wife (Vaani Kapoor replaced Ileana D’Cruz)! But he still has the same motive for being.

This gentleman is Amay Patnaik, whose name alone is so unfilmy—Devgn, dressed in a shirt, pants, and Relaxo-style floaters, seldom lets his heroic swag overpower this government worker character—that, as a viewer, you unconsciously stick with his honesty the whole time.

Onscreen, he never disappoints.

I’m not really sure how big his opponent is. In that the film begins in Rajasthan in 1989 and then moves to the town of Bhoj, where the virtuous Sarkari hero is on his 74th transfer.

Bhoj is a little Karnataka town, if my memory serves me well. One guy controls and owns almost the whole town, including its residents, making this one perhaps fake.

As most politicians are, Riteish Deshmukh portrays a very sober politician who is so strong that the state government is managed by his borrowed MLAs. If I understand correctly, he is also a member of parliament.

This would be a mismatched David vs. Goliath scenario in the real world. But what follows is a Tom & Jerry pursuit, where the adversary and protagonist eventually turn a corner, making the movie a true thriller.

The movie Raid 2 is plenty of action. Nevertheless, neither lead-bloke swings in the air in many directions, and not a single knuckle breaks!

We seem to be gradually shifting away from the kind of structured theatrical writing and toward stunts for their own sake. You don’t have to spill blood to keep people’s interest, do you? And this is something that filmmaker Gupta (Aamir, No One Killed Jessica) does well.

In terms of the genre, it’s undoubtedly his type of return since India’s Most Wanted (2019). it seemed really lackluster in a similarly realistic setting.

What effects did the first raid have? Movies are often overestimated based on feedback from viewers and, more importantly, box office receipts.

I just met a young officer in the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) who was so impacted by the film’s prequel that he actually joined the force! Can you imagine?

He has a lot to teach me about the behavior of honest IRS officials. As bureaucrats like Amay in this film demonstrate, I believe they do have the freedom to act (against the incalculably corrupt). After the deed, there may not always be much freedom!

Going back to Tau’s “truth bomb” statement from the movie, when the main character has been suspended from the military for pursuing a large cat, “For a khuddar/self-respecting man, living off your parents-in-law is worse than going to jail!” Amay does.

But why have I been comparing this sequel to the first one, which was far more of a talkie drama set indoors?

Some viewers may feel as if they are witnessing a retread or the second season of the same program since the creators want you to repeat a lot of the characters and tropes as homage. They have a valid point of view. It may be a complement, too.

However, the sameness of these material is appropriately distinct. It is more appropriate for 2025 post-pandemic films. That is, it is composed in two discrete parts, with an interval and an item song between them.

In contrast, the second installment focuses more on revealing a distinct cast of characters for mystery, humor, and suspense.

To make the screenplay more accessible to a larger audience, it was expanded a little after halftime. It’s a stretch, really. However, it’s all done for the sake of public amusement. No sweat, then. No effort at all!