Starring Ajay Devgn and Ileana D’Cruz, the upcoming thriller is set in Uttar Pradesh and is inspired by the real life raid incidents which caught the attention of everyone back in the 80’s. The film is set to release on March 16 and a leading publication got a chance to interact with a former senior officer from the IT department, whose raids have inspired the film.
Talking about the planning which goes behind the raids, the ex-officer revealed, “We would pick teams of honest officers, who would do thorough research and not depend on information based on hearsay. After a careful analysis, we would decide on whether to conduct the raid or not and accordingly get our senior’s approval for it.”
There would be instances wherein they would have to deal with utmost political pressure, “Since the idea was to catch them by surprise, we would strike by 7 or 8 in the morning. Initially, they would get agitated and aggressive, but we’d talk to them and tell them that we’re doing our duty and that the department had nothing personal against them. By afternoon, both sides would warm up to each other a bit, which would ease the proceedings.
Any sort of communication would be cut off from the premises while the raid would be conducted. Commenting on the same, he stated “We had to keep one phone line working to update the control room about what we had found in our searches or if there was any risk to us. For example, during the raids at some houses, people would say that they needed to send their children to school. So, we would have to update the control room about it. Our officers would check the children’s books, especially Maths books, to check for any coded information.”
He shed some light on how people would find ways to hide their assets, “They would keep things inside mattresses, walls, false ceilings, in the homes of their relatives or even with their drivers. During my service, it was rare that we conducted a raid and didn’t find anything.”