‘We Are Still Struggling’

‘The
audience
wants
content.’‘If
your
trailer
lands,
if
your
teaser
runs,
if
people
like
the
songs,
they
will
definitely
come.’


Rediff.com‘s
Patcy
N,
Hitesh
Harisinghani
and
Afsar
Dayatar
report
from
the

Raid
2
trailer
launch.

It’s
a
bad
time
for
Bollywood
movies,
and
Ajay
Devgn
acknowledges
it.

In
2025
so
far,


only
one
film
has
done
well.

At
the
trailer
launch
for

Raid
2,
Devgn
spoke
out:
“We
are
still
struggling
and
not
very
sure
what
the
audience
would
come
for.
We
think
we
have
an
idea
of
how
audiences
have
evolved
and
changed
during
the
pandemic
because
of
international
exposure.

“We
are
adapting
to
it.
We
are
struggling
and
trying
to
figure
it
out.
It’s
not
that
Bollywood
alone
is
not
working.
Around
the
world,
some
films
are
working
and
some
are
not.”

Watch:
Ajay
Devgn
explains
why
there
is
no
audience
in
theatres

Is
the
hike
in
ticket
and
food
prices
a
reason
for
the
drop
in
footfalls?

“I
don’t
think
so,”
Devgn
replies.
“Because
when
the
audience
comes,
the
ticket
prices
remain
the
same.
The
audience
decides
which
film
to
watch.

“Honestly,
I
feel
the
audience
is
not
attraction
to
promotions.
They
want
content.
If
your
trailer
lands,
if
your
teaser
runs,
if
people
like
the
songs,
they
will
definitely
come.”

Vaani
Kapoor
works
with
Devgn
for
the
first
time,
and
is
blown
away
by
him.

“His
sheer
aura,
quiet
intensity,
screen
presence
and
gravitas
is
inspiring,”
she
says.

Is
Devgn
silent
on
the
sets?

“No,
we
were
pretty
chatty,”
she
says.
“I
am
an
introvert
too,
and
it
takes
me
time
to
open
up.
Sir
was
very
kind
and
generous.
He
entertained
my
not-so-entertaining
conversations.
I
love
the
fact
that
he
is
humble
and
grounded.
He
has
a
lot
of
humility.”

Vaani
takes
over
Ileana
D’Cruz’s
role
from
the
original
film.

“I
tried
to
play
it
with
authenticity,
in
the
most
genuine
way
possible.
I
just
followed
the
director’s
brief,
the
creators
and
the
writers.
This
project
showcases
my
talent
differently.
It’s
not
aligned
to
anything
I’ve
done
so
far.”

About
the
director,
Vaani
said,
‘Raj
(Kumar
Gupta)
sir
has
a
great
understanding
and
clarity
about
what
he
wants
from
his
characters.”

Saurabh
Shukla
was
all
praise
for
Ajay
Devgn:
“When
we
see
his
filmography,
we
can
see
that
he
has
made
all
kinds
of
films.
There
was
a
scene
in

Raid,
when
Tauji
(Saurabh
Shukla’s
character)
comes
out
with
a
gun.
Patnaik
(Ajay
Devgn)
takes
the
gun
and
shoots.

“Two
guys
were
rehearsing
the
scene
that
we
would
be
playing,
when
Ajay
sir
suddenly
stood
up
and
said
that
they
were
doing
it
wrong.
He
said
that
his
character
was
a
person
who
works
in
the
income
tax.
He
is
not
Singham.
He
will
not
shoot
like
this.

“When
you
do
a
larger-than-life
film,
you
can
rotate
the
gun
and
shoot.
But
an
tncome
tax
officer,
who
has
never
held
a
gun,
will
not
shoot
like
that.
He
has
a
great
understanding
of
what
he
is
doing.”

Why
did

Raid
2
take
seven
years
to
arrive?

“It
takes
time
to
do
good
things,”
Rajkumar
says.
“It
takes
time
to
find
good
stories.
We
didn’t
want
to
spoil
what
we
had
made.”

About
working
with
Ajay
Devgn,
he
says,
“He
pushes
so
many
boundaries.
He
is
the
only
superstar
I
have
worked
with
but
he
challenges
himself.
He
has
been
doing
it
for
so
long.
We
get
inspired
by
the
way
he
approaches
his
work.
For
a
director,
it’s
always
great
to
see
an
actor
or
a
superstar
trying
to
get
into
that
character.”