Myth that sequels, franchise films safe to make: ‘Raid 2’ director Rajkumar Gupta

Mumbai, It's a common belief that sequels and franchise movies come with a built-in safety net, says “Raid 2” director Rajkumar Gupta.

Gupta is returning with a sequel to his 2018 blockbuster hit “Raid” that featured Ajay Devgn in the role of IRS officer Amay Patnaik.

“I don't think anything is safe, that's a myth that making the second part will be safe. Unless and until it calls for a sequel and you have to have a story for that, I don't believe in an easy way out. Sequels are working and there is no rocket science to that. They are working because of familiarity,” the director, known for critically-acclaimed films like “Aamir”, and “No One Killed Jessica”, told PTI in an interview.

“Raid” focused on real-life raids conducted by income tax department in the 1980s. The sequel, he said, once again focuses on true cases.

Gupta said it has taken him almost four years to come up with a sequel. He praised Devgn for his performance in both the movies.

“He is such a brilliant actor that we didn't need to do much but get the script right. Our approach was to get the story, character right, and make sure he doesn't look out of the character,” the director said.

“We followed what the script demanded. Ajay sir is known to do different films and whatever the character demands, he does that.”

The 2018 film, “Raid” featured Saurabh Shukla as the antagonist and Ileana D’Cruz as Devgn’s wife. For the sequel, the makers roped in a fresh cast, Riteish Deshmukh as the villain and Vaani Kapoor as Devgn’s love interest.

When asked about changing the leading lady for the sequel, Gupta said, “It happens all the time”.

He also said that this change should not be viewed “negatively”.

“I think these things happen. Ileana was part of ‘Raid’, and she was great in it, and she is still part of the ‘Raid’ family. This time it's Vaani , it came nicely together, like both the characters. The character is the same, the actor has changed. It's seven years ahead . So, the actor has changed, and there is no negativity to that.”

Casting a villain is one of the most important decisions, said Gupta.

“As a director, you have to see how he will enter the film and where it will all end, what's his journey. So, it is very important to cast it right for any character. But here it is more important because he is equal to the protagonist.

“Once my writers had finished writing, then we decided, ‘ab kisko cast karen?” I had worked with Riteish and the character suited him, and he is such a brilliant actor. I’ve followed his work for quite some time. He has done so many varied characters in films,” he said.

“Raid 2” is backed by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, and Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek Pathak under their banners T-Series and Panorama Studios, respectively.

It is set to release theatrically on May 1.

Gupta said two of his projects didn’t come to fruition, including “Section 84” with Kareena Kapoor Khan and a biopic on an Indian spy Ravindra Kaushik, known as the Black Tiger, with Salman Khan.

“I was doing that a long time ago. With Mr. Salman Khan there was one film on which we were talking about with Atul and Alvira . There was talk of bringing Ravindra Kaushik biopic.

“I had the rights and then it expired and I did not renew it. So, we did not do it. I believe all films come with destiny, so whoever is destined to do it, will do it. Maybe I was not destined to do it.”

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