Ajay Devgn has one of the most interesting track records among A-list actors. He’s the only one whose film can open in the Rs. 5-6 crore range (‘Drishyam’ (2015)), Rs. 10 crore range (‘Baadshaho’ (2017), ‘Action Jackson’ (2014)) and sometimes, even in the Rs. 30 crore range (‘Singham Returns’ (2014), ‘Golmaal Again’ (2017)). For many A-listers, their presence is more than enough to get a consistent decent opening, regardless of genre. But for Ajay, his presence coupled with other factors play an important role. So a franchise film like ‘Singham Returns’ or ‘Golmaal Again’ gets blockbuster opening. An action flick like ‘Baadshaho’ manages to open around Rs. 10 crore and a film with no action like ‘Drishyam’ has an opening of Rs. 5.87 crore. Sadly, ‘Raid’ belongs to the category of ‘Drishyam’. This Ajay Devgn starrer releases tomorrow and looks highly interesting but it has lot of challenges in its way.
‘Raid’ also stars Ileana D’Cruz and Saurabh Shukla and is directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, who made ‘Aamir’ (2008) and ‘No One Killed Jessica’ (2011). It is set in the 80s and is inspired from a real life story when a team of Income tax officials raided the house of a politician. Ajay essays the role of a real-life person whose identity has been kept under wraps. The trailer is quite powerful as it has some commercial elements, ‘dialoguebaazi’ and looks quite rooted. Sadly, the film is not as commercial as say ‘Singham’ as there’s no action. As a result, the hype has not been generated. Moreover, Ajay-Ileana pairing this time hasn’t worked its magic, like in ‘Baadshaho’. Interestingly, just like ‘Baadshaho’, ‘Raid’ has not just one but two songs of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan-Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and yet, the buzz has not been built up.
‘Raid’ however is getting a wide release as it’s the only big film of the week. The opening might be better than ‘Drishyam’ and the film can open in the Rs. 7 crore range. Last week’s ‘Hate Story 4’ has underperformed while ‘Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety’ is going strong but it’s not that powerful that it’ll crush a new release. So, ‘Raid’ can have a dream run at the box office for the next two weeks since next Friday’s release ‘Hichki’ is a multiplex flick. So if the word of mouth is positive, ‘Raid’ can pick up well on Saturday and have a decent weekend. Then it’s upto the weekdays to hold well. ‘Drishyam’, despite a poor opening, had a weekend of Rs. 24.95 crore and lifetime earnings of Rs. 68.66 crore which was huge. If ‘Raid’ manages to have a great word of mouth, it can cross the Rs. 70-75 crore mark.