‘When I heard the story, I knew this needed to be told’

Director Raj Kumar Gupta had a cracking debut with the 2008 thriller Aamir. His next, No One Killed Jessica (2011), starring Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan, too, garnered rave reviews. But after his 2013 heist comedy Ghanchakkar, Gupta disappeared from the scene.

Back with his latest offering, the Ajay Devgn and Ileana D’Cruz-starrer Raid, what took him 5 years to come up with another film? “Nothing was planned. Films take time to come together, so it wasn’t a conscious decision. I was waiting for the right subject and opportunity.”

So when the producers approached him with the story of Raid, he couldn’t resist. “It’s one of those stories that have really impressed me. When I heard the narration, I immediately knew this needed to be told. After we started researching, we came across several instances of people showing their heroism even as common people,” he shares.

After the box-office debacle of Ghanchakkar, is there any added pressure with regards to Raid? “Two of my films — Aamir and No One Killed Jessica — before that were received well. Ghanchakkar had extreme reactions; some loved it, others hated it. But it recovered its money,” he says.

Every film-maker expects their film to do well at the BO, and Gupta is no different. “Aap ummeed karte hain ki achcha ho, kyonki logon ne paise lagaye hain. I hope people will like the film, since we’ve made it with a lot of hard work.”

NOTE TO READERS: Some of the coverage that appears on our pages is paid for by the concerned brands. No sponsored content does or shall appear in any part of HT without it being declared as such to our valued readers.