Raid 2 - Mommy Dearest

 Raid 2

Hindi, 2025

Directed by Raj Kumar Gupta

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Riteish Deshmukh, Vaani Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla, Rajat Kapoor, Shruti Pandey

Genre: Investigative Drama

Where to watch: Netflix 

  

Mohan's Measure: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

In telling scenes, we witness a well-groomed, seemingly rational man sitting outside the mandir in his palatial home, offering oblations to his mother's feet.  We learn later that this same man is blackmailing young women for sexual favors.  There is a Hitchcock-ian sense of schizophrenia in Mr. Deshmukh's portrayal of Dada Bhai that makes Raid 2 as good, if not slightly better, than the first one.

 

Of course, the story follows the same pattern to the character of the immutable Mr. Patnaik, a powerful and incorruptible tax officer who performs his assigned tasks like a seasoned police officer.  But, an interesting twist starts off the movie in suggesting that he too has fallen to his vices and taken a bribe.  How this fits in to the story serves a layer of added complexity to the plot, as too the return of the inimitable Mr. Shukla as Tauji, the nemesis from the first movie.

 

The characterizations are amazing, especially Mr. Shukla's, who with his sarcastic demeanor provides voyeuristic enjoyment of the fate of Patnaik's next raid.  On the other extreme, Ms. Kapoor offers little more than a few romantic moments and a few scenes of stoicism in supporting her husband in the investigation of an influential philanthropist.  It is unfortunate she has not been provided more room to act in what I think is her first major role. Interestingly, Ms. Pandey offers an better female protagonist role as Geeta, a new recruit who hero worships Patnaik, despite his recently acquiescing to the system. 

 

While critics have offered a mixed bag on Raid 2, I would recommend it. It is a clean film with a hint of sophistication that keeps it from falling into violence or innuendo.  It may be predictable at times, but offers a wealth of entertainment  - taxable, of course.