Review: RAID

Look Ma! Singham With No Fistcuffs

2.5 stars

Mini Review:

An honest Income Tax officer leads a team in a raid to find

hidden assets of a local heavy, a political leader, at his

bungalow called ‘White House’. The dialog is tight, the good

guys are as smart as the bad guys are clever, the danger

seems real and it’s money well spent when you watch this

film. If only the thrill of watching money tumbling out of

walls was not marred by silly songs and a whiny wife.

Main Review:

An honest Income Tax officer is recognised by one thing: he gets

transferred ever so often. Ajay Devgn brings his Singham style

dialog delivery (but none of the action, because government

officer) to his role as Amay Patnaik, who has just been posted

in Lucknow.

When his fellow officer says, ‘He’s just been posted, so he’s like

a bottle of soda that’s just been opened. Will make a bit of noise…’

you know you’re in for a decent viewing because a non-descript

chap has been given a nice line. The film does not disappoint.

Saurabh Shukla plays Tauji, the big, bad bully in UP (a state not

exactly known for its lawfulness) who lives in a sprawling

bungalow called ‘White House’ and his fiefdom extends all over

the state and he knows he’s the man political parties come to for

money before the elections. He fancies himself as a political

kingmaker as well. So when Amay Patnaik shows up early in the

morning, Tauji chews up the scene when he says, let me drink my

tea first and then disturb me. Saurabh Shukla has done this role

so many times, he makes a really good bad guy.

The income tax officers search the premises, the family of Tauji

make great adversaries (the men and women alike, and you will

fall in love with the old granny) and we watch the drama unfold.

Ajay Devgn is good as a stern officer, but you wish he too would

get his hands a tad dirty instead of strategising. The strategies

are good fun too. And the audience as well as the officers

are surprised.

But, there’s a ‘but’ in the story that prevents this film in becoming

a super watch. This involves a really stupid whiny wife played by

Ileana D’Cruz. ‘Don’t go!’, ‘Be safe!’, ‘I worry when you’re gone’,

‘I didn’t know marrying you would mean getting transferred so

often!’... She is so redundant to the story, they could have simply

made the narrative tighter by removing her (and the two ridiculous,

unnecessary songs filmed on her), giving Ajay Devgn a free hand

to be the strong honest tax guy.

The background music is jarring and at one point you wonder

how much of Dunkirk’s music they’re imitating. And badly.

Also there’s one character who is shown to be dishonest who

suddenly turns out to be a good guy. But there are so many

good things about the film you can forgive these illogical things.

All because the granny is supremely fun to have around.

The script has been written with lots of restrained humor and no

one ruins the lines. The politics of wait and frustration is very

well shown. Not just Tauji’s family, the politicians are cast well.

The reveal in the end is good. This movie could have been

brilliant but for the wife.       

(this review appears on nowrunning.com )