If one has to think of an actor who suits the role of a cop in a Bollywood film, many would have Ajay Devgn in mind. The actor who has aced his roles in Singham, Gangaajal, and many other films, will once again be seen as a government officer, in T-Series’ upcoming film, Raid.
Written by Ritesh Shah and directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, Raid is a film based on true events, where an officer conducts a raid, eventually striving to solve a scam worth thousands of crores. The film also stars Ileana D’cruz, Saurabh Shukla in the lead roles. It is expected to release on March 16, 2018.
In a conversation with the media, Ajay Devgn shared his views on the film, his journey, choices, and more.
I heard this story many years back, and I found it fascinating. The story in this film is one of the most popular scams the country has seen. Raid has an interesting story with many layers, and when we heard the story and narration, we all unanimously decided to go ahead and make it. I met the officer who handled the case and it was wonderful getting insights from him. Raid is not just about the incident. It also talks about the person, his honesty, his efforts and his experience during the raid.
Honestly, the writers have put all the efforts for the research. Raj and Ritesh went through a lot of hard work behind the story. As an actor, I gave my inputs, like many do, in almost all the films. But, Raj is a sensible, experienced director, and he knows what is expected out of the scene and the cast. It was a great teamwork on the set because we all understood the needs and focused towards making this film.
For me, filmmaking is not only or always about passing a social message. Primarily, I always focus on entertaining the audience in any form. It is not about the genre, but it is about the good and bad film. At times a bad film does work, because of marketing, but a good film will always work.
On the other hand, the audience is evolving and consuming content in a different manner. This change is helping us in the industry to offer something better. Opinions, marketing and word of mouth on social media and technology have changed and widened prospects for people. Also, the availability of internet has helped the outreach grow, because of which the content is now easily available for the people, anywhere. So I believe it is important to deliver quality work which engages with the audience, and not be specific to a genre.
Like mentioned before, entertainment and content are the only two factors I look at. If I believe the script and story is good, I put my efforts into delivering it to the audience. When it comes to content on television, I can see a change, growth and differentiation in what the audience wants to see. I never intend to invest in television or films only for sake of it. Same is the case with the Marathi films I contribute to. Talking about working in a film, I’d do it someday if I get a good script. There is no hesitation.
Ileana is a simple and a hardworking actress. She is fun to work with. Her role in Raid is quite strong and different. She is not just a housewife, but she is officer’s pillar of strength. Her character adds a lot of value to the film. My chemistry with Saurabh Shukla on the set was great. I have got many scenes with him and some have a humorous touch to it. In fact, the is one other film of mine, where the writer has thought of the lines quite well.
I have no apprehension in working with other Bollywood stars in a film. I wouldn't mind sharing my screen space with them. However, not many in the industry today prefer that. It will difficult to convince them on this front. It is not to do with the budget of the film, but it is all about the choice and interest, and that makes it difficult. Further, it is also about the script. Not many writers today focus on a story which has two or more popular Bollywood actors together.
Talking about my future projects, I’m working on a film with Luv Ranjan and it is untitled yet, after which we will also focus on making Singham 3, followed by Golmaal 5. Meanwhile, I’m working on directing a film too. I cannot disclose any information about it now, but an announcement will be made soon.