While I haven’t seen “Raid” (2018), Raj Kumar Gupta’s crime thriller based on the real-life income-tax raid on Sardar Inder Singh in the 1980s, the very existence of its sequel—this time detached from any real-life case and featuring Vaani Kapoor replacing Ileana D’Cruz as the same flat-lined love interest, Malini—reveals the core vice of any mainstream cinema industry: backing sequels that never needed to exist. That this gamble paid off, and the film has already emerged as the year’s third-highest-grossing Hindi release, says more than enough about the current state of Bollywood moviegoing culture.
What this doesn’t immediately tell you, however, is how surprisingly effective the film is at mobilising its storytelling tools to push the narrative forward. As a standalone entry, it plays out like a pulpy and mostly engaging crowd-pleaser about the terrifying ease with which politicians and bureaucrats can infiltrate and manipulate the system from within. Its depiction of gendered corruption and the deeper rot of Indian democracy—where people build their own oppressors and still comply with them—thankfully doesn’t drift into chaotic apoliticism.
That said, the flaws are glaring. The writing is often simplistic, at times reducing an entire populace to a reactionary mass. Riteish Deshmukh’s mainstream comeback doesn’t help either—his limitations as an actor remain paper-thin and visible. And no, the bizarre linguistic choice of an Odia couple speaking pitch-perfect Hindi wasn’t going to be fixed in this lifetime. Still, Raid 2 holds a curious kind of charm—the kind that reminds you of what an unapologetically “Hindi” film feels like, before loud propaganda machines overran the cinematic battleground on one end and sleek, westernized indie lenses on the other.
This is an unusually loaded film—one where entire subplots are compressed into thirty-minute narrative chunks. There’s a genuine risk of missing something crucial just by blinking too long. So, here’s our attempt to break it down—an explainer to help you make sense of the chaos, the politics, and the gold hidden beneath the surface.
Raid 2 (2025) Movie Plot Summary and Synopsis:
The film opens in Rajasthan in 1989, where a team of Income Tax officers steadily approaches the palace of a small-town Raja named Kunwar Kuldeep. An informer spots the convoy and alerts the palace, prompting the Raja’s men to mobilize. He instructs his right-hand man to quickly shift all the riches into large vehicles and smuggle them out through another route. Scoffing at how democracy has emboldened government officers to presume they can command honesty, the Raja launches a violent assault on the officers, blocking their entry and scaring them off.
But IRS officer Amay Patnaik takes a different route, intercepts the Raja’s men mid-transfer, and catches them red-handed, successfully executing the raid. Later, at the IRS office, the same right-hand man offers to bribe Amay, who instead demands a payment of 2 crore rupees. As a result, Amay is transferred for the seventy-fourth time. His wife, Malini, sarcastically notes that the diamond jubilee is still pending. Despite the public report of dishonesty, her eyes suggest she suspects there’s another side to the story.
Where is Amay transferred?
This time, Amay is transferred to Bhoj, a town in Madhya Pradesh. As always, he arrives early, sifting through files and records before the staff comes in. When the subordinates eventually arrive, he addresses them, noting that everything being too perfectly in order might itself be cause for concern. Some officials respond that it’s because the ‘king’ of Bhoj keeps things running honestly—everything stays smooth under his watch. Still, Amay demands a comprehensive report on the wealth of every major and minor businessman in town.
Later, his daughter Mini urges him to take her out since schools won’t reopen before Holi. Amay takes his wife and daughter to the city’s main tourist attraction: the Sushma Foundation, built by the influential politician Manohar Dhankar, known as Dada Bhai, in his mother’s name. Amay is struck by Dada Bhai’s humility when they meet. Local vendors tell him Dada Bhai was once an impoverished cobbler who used his meager earnings to feed the impoverished. That earned him immense public goodwill, though he had to shut his shop due to meagre business.
Encouraged by the public, he contested elections as an independent after the Chief Minister mocked his poverty. To everyone’s surprise, he defeated the CM. Upon victory, he demanded an apology from the CM and went on to become Home Minister and eventually a cabinet figure. A popcorn vendor also shares gossip that Dada Bhai once had an ‘epic love story’ with a woman named Neha, who died in an accident.
Also Read: Raid 2 (2025) Movie Review
What is Amay’s big order?
After hosting a Holi party for his colleagues and friends, Amay visits a village and is surprised to find sugarcane plantations thriving in summer. A local farmer informs him that the crop belongs to a landlord named Vinay Dadiyal, who claims to be growing it for good fortune. That night, Amay convenes all officers and issues a bombshell order: a warrant for a raid on Manohar Dhankar alias Dada Bhai’s properties. Ashok, one of the officers, is stunned and calls it blasphemy.
That’s when Amay reveals the truth behind his so-called dishonesty and “punishment” transfer—it was a setup. After accepting the fake bribe, he received intelligence that Dada Bhai had aligned with Kunwar Kuldeep to topple the CM. Amay asked Chief Commissioner Kaul to concoct the bribery story so he could get transferred to Bhoj and investigate. He then probed the plantations, unearthed a buried box of cash, and tracked down gold that had allegedly been hidden inside the statue of a hand installed at the Foundation.
What happens during the raid?
But when Amay raids Dada Bhai’s mansion, he’s stunned to find no black money despite having thirty seizure warrants. Even the gold in the statue is missing. The public turns against the department, erupting in violence. Dada Bhai mocks him, saying that while he fakes honesty for the public, he always knew Amay was faking dishonesty. He admits to having emptied his assets under the radar to preserve his image, effectively challenging Amay’s moral order. Before leaving, he offers a cryptic hint: everything Amay seeks is hiding in plain sight. Amay is then suspended for misconduct and forced to live with his in-laws. This moment is relished by Rameshwar Singh, alias Tauji—Amay’s old adversary from the previous film, now out on parole.
How does Amay find out about Neha Rathore?
While exiting one of the protests, a supposed protester slips Amay a chit containing the name of a Railway Department worker: Neha Rathore. Amay contacts his friend Puneet Sahani, a Director General in Delhi, and learns that Neha had known all departmental rules and that her death on the tracks, ruled an accident, was actually a suicide. This leads Amay to uncover a large land-for-job scam run by Dada Bhai. He would buy land from girls at low rates, get them railway jobs in return, and sexually exploit them.
Amay tries to convince these women to testify, but none agree. So, he bribes a crooked Delhi lawyer, Devender Gehlot, to file a PIL against Dada Bhai. Frightened, Dada Bhai agrees to pay Gehlot 2 crore rupees to squash the case, with negotiations handled by his personal lawyer, Vinay Bakaya.
Meanwhile, Amay’s Bhoj-based colleague Geeta Devi—an admirer—tips off Lallan Sudhir, the corrupt new Deputy Commissioner, to raid Vinay Dadiyal’s home. Based on her investigation, she confirms that the cash, once buried under the plantation, was moved to Dadiyal’s house in bullock carts, leaving behind trace evidence. The raid nets 20 crore rupees, infuriating Dada Bhai.
Raid 2 (2025) Movie Ending Explained:
How is Dada Bhai exposed?
In an act of damage control, Dada Bhai pays Devender Gehlot not two but five crores to ensure the case disappears. But the tables turn when Gehlot exposes him in court, having secretly recorded the bribery attempt. This results in a court stay on Dada Bhai’s return to Bhoj. Additional raids also target IAS officer Kamal Chauhan’s Delhi residence—another key location for hoarded assets.
Meanwhile, Bakaya’s betrayal as an informant for Amay comes to light, and Dada Bhai has him disappear. Dada Bhai then takes Lallan’s advice to stash the rest of his wealth in a safer place. Simultaneously, Kaul and Amay work to revoke Amay’s suspension. Dada Bhai’s web of laundering—from his luxury resorts to overpriced Foundation products—slowly unravels, exposing unaccountable wealth. Amay vows: if this next raid fails, it will be his last.
What is recovered at the water kund?
Back in Bhoj, Amay reveals that Lallan was placed there on his own orders. Lallan, an old friend skilled at simulating corruption, has already identified the resort where Dada Bhai’s loot is stored. The raid proceeds, but Dada Bhai responds with open lawlessness, rallying violent mobs against the department. Meanwhile, Rameshwar Singh allies with the CM, offering him support from Dada Bhai’s MLAs, whom he has bought out.
In the midst of all this, Malini visits the women exploited by Dada Bhai, persuades them to speak out, and takes them to meet Sushma—Dada Bhai’s revered mother. As violence erupts near the hotel, Amay climbs to the top floor, hurls bundles of cash into the crowd, and distracts them from rioting. The money rains down, pacifying the mob and giving the team time to secure the valuables and relocate.
Amay and his officers then head to the water kund near the Foundation gate. There, divers recover the original hand statue—solid gold—buried and replaced overnight with a brass replica. Dada Bhai arrives with another angry mob, only to be halted by a car carrying Sushma, Malini, and the abused women. Sushma slaps her son in public, denounces him, and walks away in tears. Dada Bhai removes his slippers, collapses, and is taken into custody.
The film ends with Amay visiting the protester who tipped him off—Neha Rathore’s grandfather. Meanwhile, in jail, Dada Bhai encounters Rameshwar Singh. The two shake hands, hinting at the political reshuffling—and vengeance—that’s still to come.
