Meet Sharda Prasad Pandey, The Man Who Inspired Ajay Devgn's Character In 'Raid'

Ajay Devgn's role as 'Amay Patnaik' in the movie, Raid had floored the audience when it was released in 2018. After seven years, the much-awaited sequel, Raid 2, has again awed the audience. It seems to be filling up the box office pretty well too. Devgn is back with his grounded and serious persona of 'Amay Patnaik', who has set his eyes on another possibly corrupt politician, 'Dada Manohar Bhai', played by Ritesh Deshmukh. 

However, the most interesting part about the film's premise is that it is inspired by some of the biggest raids of the Income Revenue Service (IRS) in the 1980s. Even the characters played by Ajay Devgn and Saurabh Shukla in Raid 1 are based on real-life people. Devgn's character is inspired by Sharda Prasad Pandey, a Lucknow-based IRS officer, who was famous for his fearlessness while conducting raids on very powerful people. 

Sharda Prasad Pandey went toe-to-toe with an influential politician 

In the 2018 film, Ajay Devgn's character was seen investigating a powerful politician known as 'Rameshwar Singh' played by Saurabh Shukla. The politician is much loved by the public and is called Tauji by them. The leader is immensely influential and allegedly corrupt, which led to a complicated standoff between the income tax department led by 'Amay Patnaik' and 'Rameshwar Singh'. A raid is conducted, despite the politician trying his best to threaten and hinder the officer and his team. 

This plot was inspired by one of the biggest raids of 1981, under the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's government. The raid was conducted by Sharda Prasad Pandey on Sardar Inder Singh, a Congress MLA. Singh was also a businessman and founder of the country's first-ever steel re-rolling mill known as Singh Engineering Works. He served as an MLA from Amritsar and also went on to become an MP. Meanwhile, the IRS officer, Pandey, was reportedly known for his daring persona and for not bowing down in the face of political power. Hence, the standoff between the politician and Pandey's team inspired the events shown in the movie. 

Sharda Prasad Pandey was a part of the longest raid in India 

In the film, the main lead, along with his huge IRS team, searched every nook and cranny of the politician's home in Kanpur. Even though they found all the hidden black money after a few hours of searching, the team was locked inside for four consecutive days. 'Rameshwar Singh', Saurabh Shukla's character, did everything in his power to overturn the raid. He contacted the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, as well as the Prime Minister of India, but to no avail. 

Similar situations occurred when IRS officer Pandey and his team of ninety other Income Tax officers and two hundred police officers raided the house of Sardar Inder Singh in 1981, Kanpur. Though the team might not have been locked inside the home for four days, as shown in the movie, the 1981 raid is still recorded as one of the longest and largest in the history of India. Singh's factories were investigated, fifteen bank lockers that were linked to him were searched, and the homes of influential family members were raided simultaneously as well. With all of these investigations taking place, the operation went on for three nights. 

Shocking amount of wealth uncovered by Sharda Prasad Pandey's team 

In the film 'Amay Patnaik' and his team discover a huge amount of wealth hidden by the politician and his family. The wealth amounts to hundreds of crores and is completely unaccounted for. In the end, it is also revealed that a disgruntled family member of the accused had anonymously tipped the Income Tax department into taking action against the corrupt leader. Which then led to the raid and his consequent imprisonment. 

In the real-life incident, reportedly, it took forty-five people and eighteen hours to calculate the amount retrieved from the raid. The undeclared wealth amounted to around Rs. 420 crores in both cash and gold. The assets found in the investigation were nearly 3000 grams of gold, Rs. 92 lakh in cash, tonnes of jewellery and more. Reportedly, as shown in the film, the IRS was tipped by an anonymous person whose identity has never been revealed. Many speculate that it could have been a family member or a political rival. 

'Amay Patnaik' continues to investigate corrupt leaders in Raid 2 fearlessly

Raid was a huge box office success, with both critics and audiences praising the storyline as well as the acting of the whole cast, especially Ajay Devgn. The actor's portrayal of the no-nonsense and fearless IRS officer was grounded in seriousness, which perfectly fit the role. Saurabh Shukla was also impressive with his portrayal of a powerful and cunning politician, who showed moments of helplessness as the investigation was conducted. 

This success led to the sequel, Raid 2, where Devgn reprised his role again as the IRS officer 'Amay Patnaik'. This time, the officer and his team are after another potentially corrupt leader, 'Dada Manohar Bhai'. Ritesh Deshmukh played the antagonist's role. Deshmukh has shone again in a negative role after his deadly avatar in Ek Villian. Meanwhile, Vaani Kapoor replaced Ileana D'Cruz as the lead actor's lady love. 

A recent update by Bhushan Kumar, the film's producer, has brought some exciting news for the fans. He has confirmed that Raid 3 is also in the works. The idea for the sequel was already pitched while Raid was still in the theatres, said the producer. So, now as the second film is bringing in good numbers in the theatres, the story for the third movie is being worked out. Fans are excited to see what further adventures the raids of 'Amay Patnaik' bring to the screen. 

What are your thoughts on the story behind both the Raid franchise movies? Let us know. 

Also Read: Is Ajay Devgn Bollywood's First Star To Own A Private Jet? 'Raid 2' Actor Reveals The Truth Behind

AWESOME NEWS! Now you can download BollywoodShaadis app and never miss a story. Get App

AWESOME NEWS! Now you can download BollywoodShaadis app and never miss a story. Choose your device Android or IOS (Apple)