Lasyapriya Sundaram (BOMBAY TIMES; March 16, 2018)

Filmmaker Raj Kumar Gupta is known for critically-acclaimed movies like Aamir (2008) and No One Killed Jessica (2011). In 2013, he stepped out of his comfort zone and dabbled in comedy with Ghanchakkar, but the film failed to impress the audience. Now, he’s back with Raid, which is based on one of the most high-profile income tax raids conducted in the 80s in Uttar Pradesh. When BT caught up with the director, he talked about why he is drawn to real narratives. Excerpts…

You have taken to the director’s chair after a gap of five years. Did the failure of your last film Ghanchakkar deter you?
The first three films I directed were in quick succession, but Raid took some time to materialise. Out of the three films, Ghanchakkar garnered the most extreme reactions. People either hated it or loved it, but when it plays on television now, I get calls from people who tell me that it’s a good film. Ghanchakkar not doing well at the box office didn’t deter me.

Real stories are your forte. What draws you to them?
Nobody knows much about the IT raid episode that forms the crux of Raid. In my films, I look for that one element that makes the story unbelievable. As the saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction and that’s what draws me to stories that are based on reality. When the IT raid was conducted in the 1980s, social media was non-existent and hence, very little is known about the case. That gave me a chance to dig deep into the subject, because there was an element of mystery around it.

Is the story of Raid about good vs evil?
Today, films don’t have characters that are starkly black or white. A narrative like that of Raid, has characters that are layered. I always try to explore various aspects of people.

When you dabble in real stories, do you feel that people will take offence to your interpretation of the story?
As a filmmaker, I want to do my job responsibly. Of course, we fear backlash; what if someone says something against it? When that happens, one feels sad and disheartened, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up. The attempt is to tell the story in the most responsible way possible and the idea is not to offend people.