Raid 2 is a 2025 Hindi language Bollywood film which is the direct sequel of the 2018 movie Raid. Both movies feature Ajay Devgn in the lead role, who is an Income Tax Officer, known for his raids all over India. Directed by Raj Kumar Gupta and written by Ritesh Shah, Raj Kumar Gupta, Jaideep Yadav, and Karan Vyas, the story of the movie rounds around Ajay Devgn set in the 1990s targets a big politician who is a cabinet minister at the Union Government of India, who is played by the second lead character Riteish Deshmukh as Dada Manohar Bhai.
The film is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek Pathak under the banner of T-Series Films and Panorama Studios, distribution is done by Panorama Studios and PVR Inox Pictures. The cinematography of the movie is done by Sudhir K. Chaudhary, editing by Sandeep Francis and the score music is given by Amit Trivedi.
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Review
Seven years later, Raid 2 takes Ajay Devgn’s role as the intrepid income tax officer Amay Patnaik. Except this time, there is an energy, a gnarly freshness to the first movie that is missing. Again directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, the movie tries to be bigger and bolder but it cannot go deep.
The plot has Patnaik suddenly posted at Bhoj for the 74th time in the role of Dada Manohar Bhai (Riteish Deshmukh), a politician with a mass following, whose corrupt empire the people do not know about. Patnaik is suspicious of him and leads another raid, in this case, the suspense doesn’t ratchet up the way it once did.
Ajay Devgn is intense as Patnaik, as usual. There is his silent stare, crisp walk and no-nonsense style. But what’s missing is the emotional factor. He behaves more like a movie star than a proper officer. Vaani Kapoor as his wife Malini is hardly in the picture, and does not contribute much to the plot.
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Riteish Deshmukh is a fine cast as the dutiful clean-shaven bad guy. He downplays it, but his character doesn’t have levels. Courtesy of we don’t really see the dark side of Dada Bhai. I for one think that the movie missed a trick here. For example, a flashback on how he bullied his girlfriend to killing herself (which is quickly mentioned) might have been dramatized. That would have made his villainy all the scarier and more real.
Amit Sial, the corrupt officer Lallan is a scene-stealer. His dialogue is funny and taut. Saurabh Shukla shows his face in a cameo as Tauji, but it is a pity to miss his robust presence all through the movie. Supriya Pathak as Dada mother is genuine, but under developed.
The dialogues are punchy, “Main Mahabharat hoon” or “Kile par hamla zaroori nahi” get whistles. But lines aside, the story is just too formulaic. The first half drags with unnecessary songs and rehashed visuals; endless convoys of Ambassador cars, for example. The second half really gets busy, in particular in the courtroom and raid scenes.
Raid 2 isn’t an awful movie, it’s just not nearly as gripping or emotionally arresting as it should be. Better writing for the villain and more depth to the character and this could have met, or perhaps even surpassed, the first. Unfortunately, it is more about style than soul.
Cast
Ajay Devgn reprieves his role of upright IRS Deputy Commissioner Amay Patnaik, known for his steely gaze and exterior. As is the norm, Devgn makes a credible performance, playing the cool but focussed public servant. While the first ‘Raid’ finds its emotional equilibrium, Patnaik in this is more superstar-in-sunglasses than real bureaucrat in the world of windbags. His iconic screen presence is enough to keep you interested, but the character arc is never as satisfying as the movie seems to think it is.
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In it, Riteish Deshmukh is hiding crushed it as Manohar Dhankar a.k.a Dada Manohar Bhai powerful political personage with many secrets. Even though Deshmukh drips oozing threat and polished demeanour, the writing fails to define his character well enough. One expects to have seen more of Dada’s atrocities, some psychological extremity possibly is regarding the one-girlfriend subplot that has yet to hatch. His staid performance nevertheless makes for a touchstone of dignity to Devgn’s stone-faced stoicism.
Vaani Kapoor stepping in for Ileana D’Cruz as Malini Patnaik is given little screen time and has even less bearing on the plot. And Supriya Pathak as Dada’s rigidly pious mother also contributes grace, but her role seems underdeveloped as well.
Saurabh Shukla is back as Tauji and he is charming though for less time. He delivers even with limited screen time as he is here to some degree laboriously. His acerbic wit and haunted screen presence are, as ever, the bright spot though fans may miss his absence from pivotal storylines.
Amit Sial who plays the unscrupulous Lallan Sudheer is a standout. His shifty dialogue and unpredictable character gives the proceedings much-needed zing. Yashpal Sharma is a morally ambivalent lawyer, while Rajat Kapoor and his superior also provide gravitas.
Govind Namdev and Brijendra Kala make the auxiliary cast believeable and special appearances of Tamannaah Bhatia and Jacqueline Fernandez adds the glamour.
Raid 2 also doesn’t have any good characters to root for, which although is unfortunately something that even its incredibly talented cast can’t change. Performances are fine, but the lack of character development makes the franchise’s heights unemotional compared to the first movie.
Critical Reviews
Renuka Vyavahare of The Times of India gave the movie three stars out of five and thought that Raid 2 is a follow up of the movie’s predecessor, where Devgn is the angry brandishing officer and Riteish the cool murmuring villain. Though their confrontation is compelling, the movie has none of the wit and spark of the original. Saurabh Shukla is wasted, Amit Sial stands out, and even with the sharp one-liners the movie gets too soon too serious, and forgets to have fun.
Vineeta Kumar of India Today gave the movie two and a half stars out of five stars and wrote that Raid 2 starts off on a promising note but pales in comparison to the original one. Ajay Devgn gets into stock Amay Patnaik type, although he is himself there more than the character and Riteish Deshmukh’s villain is not menacing enough. The movie is overloaded with songs and weak subplots, mainly a forced romance. It is saved only by the acrid dialogue and an acceptable climax.
Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the movie a two star rating out of five and said that it tries to obtain the magic of the original, but it is repetitious. Ajay Devgn is back, as Amay Patnaik, still clean and under-promoted and Riteish Deshmukh, the seemingly clean villain. A few supporting actors come out of the movie well enough but with its tards pace, loud background score, and nothing fresh to look out for, the movie drags on. All in all a pretty boring set of acts this time around.
Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV awarded the movie two stars out of five and felt that Raid 2 lacked the “spark” of the first one. Ajay Devgn and Riteish Deshmukh do their best but the movie suffers from a lackadaisical and formulaic narrative, filled with cliches and worn out tricks. The script is flat, treasure is lost and character development is wanting. There are some bright moments, but on the whole quite a flat follow-up, unable to live up to its predecessor.
Audiences Reviews
The audiences gave the movie very good ratings of more than 33k people rated the movie as 6.6 stars on 10 stars at IMDb, which is lower rating as compared to the rating of The Raid 2018 that is at 7.3 stars as of 23k people on IMDb. According to the user review, Raid 2 seems to receive high ratings among the users with the majority considering it a very compelling sequel that is full of suspense, surprises and good performances. Many of the viewers, in the review, said it was a must watch at that time and thought it was that sidekick-who-finally-found-his-hero moment of Ajay Devgn as Amay Patnaik and Riteish Deshmukh as Dadabhai.
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Devgn is hailed once again due to his energy and screen presence with Riteish also receiving a pat on the back to play a complex politician with a quiet menace. Most believed that Riteish had to be more sinister in that he did not resort to physically abusing individuals but was operating at the grey of the system, which made him a very subtle villain.
Some were glad to see the face of Saurabh Shukla (Tauji) and Amit Sial (Lallan), which they said brought them freshness and a sense of humor. The role of the mother of Dadabhai played by Supriya Pathak also gained her much applause as she made a memorable impression on the viewers. But there are users who felt that Vaani Kapoor was not needed in the movie. Others felt that the songs, and, above all, the item numbers, interfered with the flow of the story; others dismissed them as the usual Bollywood stuff.
Conversely, the few users reported that the plot was similar to the one in the first movie, as it was very close. However, despite the substance in the acting, the plot line appeared to be not original, and there was no continuity. One of the users believed that the climax might have been more deeply emotional particularly because it was related to the past of Dadabhai and it includes scenes with his girlfriend, which was not considered.
Altogether, Raid 2 is a scratching, politically spike-throbbing thriller that has a couple of kinks in its spine. It does not capture the same magic as the original, but there is roughly enough intrigue, nostalgia and entertainment to justify its worth, especially to those who like gritty, grounded crime dramas and the stoic, heroic Ajay Devgn. Most people are now looking up to Raid 3 with high expectations.
Songs
The Raid 2 soundtrack is a blend of both types of music that can reach out to the masses as well as those with natural emotional core and there are four songs that will fit the various emotions evident in the movie. A high tempo song “Nasha” which was written by Jaani and was composed by White Noise collectives is the first song of the album. The song, sung by Jasmine Sandlas, Sachet Tandon, Divya Kumar and Sumontho Mukherjee adds a club touch to the narration. It is created with T-Series and released on 11 April 2025 and has received more than 45 million views on YouTube, one of the most-played songs of the album.
The second track, Kamle, is a love song performed by Sachet-Parampara as a duet with the words composed by Kausar Munir and the setting by the duo. This emotional love song measures three minutes and fifty two seconds and a considerably muted interlude to the rest of the movie that has high concept. It was released on April 16, 2025, and has surpassed 20 million views.
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Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ghazal has been recreated by the gifted Salim- Sulaiman and translated by the genius Rahat Fateh Ali Khan with some added words provided by Manoj Muntashir. It was launched on April 19 and has already received over 27 million views, and the love of the people, ever since.
Last but not least, in a smooth, fast song, Money Money, the singer, composer, and writer of this song, Yo Yo Honey Singh, dips the screen with his smoothness and seductive words. The party has been released April 22, and already, the number of views has broken 26 million.
They both work to outnumber the 14 minutes mark to provide you with a wide range of the music, which, as separate pieces, sound like tales as well as advertisements but enriches the life of the movie in the digital space.
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How to Watch the Raid 2 Movie
At this point of time, the Raid 2 film is currently showing in the theatres and perhaps it has a few weeks stay in the cinemas after that you can view it in an OTT platform, which as yet is unknown, perhaps JioHotstar, since the first part is already there or a new collaborator like Amazon Prime Videos, or Netflix. However, regardless, you are required to subscribe to access the movie, and it is cheaper than the cost of the cinema, and then you are then able to watch and download the Raid 2 movie and even other movies present on the OTT service.
Thus, the news about the OTT platform is not available at the present. To stay updated, you may follow the announcements of the production house, or perhaps we will update it here once it has been released on OTT. So, stay tuned.