EVERYMAN’S HERO

Ileana D’cruz and Ajay Devgan have paired up yet again for the recently released thriller Raid, a movie that narrates an engaging tale of a fearless Income Tax officer

I have done so many films where the hero is in uniform. But it is not always necessary to wear a uniform to do your job, rather it is the need to do right thing, says Ajay

When you’re a filmmaker you’re part of a very expensive art form

- Kevin Smith

Box Office India (BOI): The trailer has created quite a buzz among the audience. What kind of response have you got from your fans?

Ileana D’cruz (ID): It has been amazing and overwhelming. I do not want anyone to take this the wrong way but I actually had no expectations from anyone. I know it is a great film but I never once wondered what people were going to think of the trailer. I did not ask anyone. Even without that, there are so many nice things that people are sharing with me. People from the industry have been saying great things. Also, I have friends who are not all that filmy but they too watched the trailer and told me that they not only liked it but they absolutely loved it. They loved how it looked because it is so different. And that is one of the reasons I did the film. It is an amazing, beautiful story and I think it needs to be told. I think the response has been absolutely phenomenal.

BOI: The film has an interesting tagline, ‘Heroes don’t always come in uniform’. How did you all come up with it?

Ajay Devgan(ad): I actually came up with that line. That’s my take on the film. ID: It’s totally apt for this film. AD: Yes, it is. I have also done so many films where the hero is in uniform. The character I play in Raid too is as strong and as honest as the ones I have played before. Income tax officers do not wear a uniform and that’s what we are showing. It is not necessary to wear a uniform to do your job here; it is the need to do the right thing.

ID: Also, I have always felt that we hear only one side of the story. We have spoken about what it feels like to be the victim, the person who is raided. But I have never heard the stories of income tax officers. We have no idea what the officer goes through and it is absolutely amazing. Very brave too.

BOI: What kind of research did you have to do to portray this character on screen?

AD: This particular story is a real one and is based on somebody’s life. I met the person whose life it was inspired by as part of my research. But it wasn’t really research; it was more like a chat to understand what had happened and what he felt.

More than me, our director Raj Kumar Gupta was involved in this conversation with the person concerned. Then, Raj and I discussed it at length after which I offered my own take on it. The difference this time was that this central character needed to be mentally aggressive. He is not a physical guy. He cannot be physically aggressive. So you will see that the whole attitude is very different from, say, a Singham.

BOI: Ajay sir, as you said, you are playing a role based on someone’s life. Does that make it easier or more difficult?

AD: It is sometimes easier to play a fictional character but it depends on the character and the situation. When you are playing a role based on real people and incidents, it is easier because you can identify with the situation as it has actually happened. But it is also tougher to be somebody else. Hence, you need to strike the right balance for your role.

BOI: When we had spoken to the producers and the director of Raid, they described the female protagonist as one of those heroes mentioned in the tagline that don’t need a uniform.

ID: It shows you the truth because the wives of income tax officers need to be immensely brave, especially when their husbands go out on raids. I think the situation might have changed a little but, back then, husbands wouldn’t tell their wives where they were going. They had no idea whether the husband was coming back the same day or coming back at all. It’s quite a scary situation to be in for a while.

AD: In fact, just yesterday, we met the family of an income tax officer. The wife was saying that her husband had never told her about all this, where he was going, and she kept worrying. So it does reflect the reality of what they experience.

BOI: Both of you are doing this film almost on the heels of your last one, in which you had worked together for the first time. Was there a comfort level you shared the second time around in Raid?

AD: I think the comfort level between us was there from the very first day of our first movie.

ID: Day one, actually. I was super nervous on my first day on the sets of Baadshaho and he completely calmed me by saying that it was fine and asking me to just chill. I was nervous because I had so many lines. I remember Ajay was leaving that day, it was the last day of his schedule and that had me panicking. I was, like, will I be able to finish this on time? He had to be this quiet person in the scene and I had all these lines, I was a nervous wreck. But he was extremely helpful and calm throughout. We just broke the ice. Actually, there was no ice; we got along from day one.

BM: How much of a romance angle will we see in this film?

AD: The romance is very real. Actually, I wouldn’t call it romance; I would call it a relationship between a husband and wife. ID: Yes, we are talking about the intimacy between them. It isn’t this cheesy thing. AD: You cannot call what they share as ₹romance’.

BOI: From the trailer, it is obvious that the film’s premise is an income tax officer conducting raids in people’s homes or offices. That plotline may seem a little limited to some. How did you make sure you balanced it with entertainment to make it engaging?

AD: From the promo itself, the audience is saying it looks very real and very commercial too. The thrill angle, the relationships and the tension make it very commercial. When I heard the script, it felt real but it has been written in the commercial space. That is the best part of the script.

BOI: Director Raj Kumar Gupta and producer Kumar Mangat have said that this film is socially very relevant, which is a trend that everyone is following. What is your take on that?

AD: I think that filmmaking should not be limited to delivering a message. If it is in the story, if it comes out automatically, then that’s great. Here, in Raid, it does come out automatically. It talks about this man who is ready to risk his family and his life. Why is he so honest? The message is what he is doing for his department and his country. The film also explains a lot of things like the adverse effects of not paying income tax. Many people feel that there is no need to share the money they have. If you’re not educated enough, then you would think that is right. So there are these subtle messages in the film.

BOI: The movie has been shot in a very short span of time. Any challenges you faced while filming?

AD: It was shot in one go and there were no challenges. Everything was planned very well.

BOI: From challenges during filming to challenges during the film’s release… how much will Raid benefit from a solo release amid so many clashes?

AD: Well, yes, solo release is always better. The only thing better than a solo release – and what people keep struggling for – is a holiday weekend. Those aspects are crucial to the business of a film. But that cannot happen all the time. We have so many movies but a finite number of weeks every year. Even though we have a solo release, the business of the film depends on many other factors. Take, for example, the recently released Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety. It opened at ₹5.5-6 crore, but the way it is going, it could touch ₹100 crore. So, it does not matter who your film is opening against or when it is releasing. A good film will always work.

ID: Yes, at the end of the day, the content of the film makes all the difference.

BOI Talking about box office numbers, do you track the collections of your films?

AD: We completely do. It is also our job to do that. We need to know how a film is working, what is working, how many screens and what not. It is part of the business.

BOI: Lastly, can you shed some light on what’s next for you after Raid’s release?

ID: I haven’t yet signed anything after this. I am taking it a little easy for now. AD: I am currently working on two films. One is Total Dhamaal and the other is the romantic comedy directed by Akiv Ali.