Real instances make reel more interesting

Ajay Devgn

Rumour mills suggest that Raid 2 producer Kumar Mangat Pathak is set to base his film on defaced businessman Piyush Jain, after the former apparently said that the film would take inspiration from scenes that unfolded in real-life when Jain's properties were raided. Pathak tells mid-day that while the film is based on "a real-life person", it is inspired by multiple stories of raids.

"The script is almost prepared. It is about an arrogant politician who gets his due, and his subsequent fall from grace. He is a common man who rises to power to become one of the wealthiest politicians of India. Then his properties are raided. The sequel will take the adventures of senior income tax officer Amay Patnaik [played by Ajay Devgn] further. In Raid 2, he will reduce the politician to the stature of the common man," informs a source, adding that filming will begin by the end of next year after Devgn has wrapped up his other film commitments.

While the story of Raid 2 was conceptualised a while ago, Pathak says he plans to up the ante as far as showcasing the wealth of the corrupt is concerned. "We have shown how money and gold are stored in the walls in the first film. We will show something different this time. We plan to incorporate only a portion of what was reported in the media about the current raids [at Jain's properties]."

The Piyush Jain scandal

The Director General of GST Intelligence, Ahmedabad, unearthed a tax evasion racket involving Uttar Pradesh-based businessman Jain. At his properties, '194.45 crore cash, 23 kg of gold and unaccounted raw materials worth '6 crore was procured. Jain is a Kanpur-based perfume businessman.