It is 1981 in Lucknow, and Amay Patnaik has been transferred forty-nine times for refusing to bend the rules. His latest posting brings him a tip: the most powerful man in the city is hiding hundreds of crores of black money inside his mansion. Amay arrives at Rameshwar Singh's door with a warrant and a team, and he won't leave until the job is done—a Hindi-language crime thriller about integrity, corruption, and a system designed to protect the powerful.
Raid is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language crime thriller directed by Raj Kumar Gupta and written by Ritesh Shah and Nischay Kutt. The film is loosely based on the 1981 income tax raid conducted by the Income Tax Department on Sardar Inder Singh, reportedly one of the longest-running raids in Indian history. Ajay Devgn plays Amay Patnaik, a fearless income tax officer who raids the Lucknow mansion of local political strongman Rameshwar Singh, known as Tauji (Saurabh Shukla). Ileana D'Cruz plays Patnaik's wife Malini, and Amit Sial plays a key supporting role. Cinematography is by Alphonse Roy, and the score is composed by Amit Trivedi and Tanishk Bagchi.The film was released in India on March 16, 2018, and was produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Kumar Mangat Pathak, and Abhishek Pathak. It became the second-highest opening weekend grosser of Bollywood in 2018 at the time of its release. Devgn won the Best Foreign Actor award at the 27th China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival for his performance. A sequel, Raid 2, was released on May 1, 2025. Core themes include integrity, corruption, political power, and institutional accountability.
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Fun Facts
Raid (2018) follows IRS officer Amay Patnaik (Ajay Devgn), freshly transferred to Lucknow, who receives a tip about black money hoarded by powerful MP Rameshwar "Tauji" Singh (Saurabh Shukla), triggering India's longest income tax raid.
Amay's team endures Tauji's hostile family, political pressure from the PM, and mob attacks over four days, uncovering crores hidden in statues, walls, and ceilings while protecting Amay's wife Malini (Ileana D'Cruz).
Raj Kumar Gupta directs this 122-minute Hindi crime thriller inspired by the 1980s Sardar Inder Singh raid, with supporting turns by Amit Sial and Suzaane Bernert.