Ravi Teja to shoot for Telugu version of Raid in Lucknow

The Telugu adaptation of Ajay Devgn-starrer blockbuster film Raid (2018) will be shot in Lucknow where the original film was also shot. To be helmed by director and screenwriter Harish Shankar, the regional version of the film Mr Bachchan: Naam To Suna Hoga will have Telugu star Ravi Teja paired opposite Bhagyashri Bhorse.
The director with his team carried out reconnaissance in the state capital and visited the Shivgarh Palace situated 48km away from the main city.
“I am a huge fan of Dedh Ishqiya (2014) and Omkara (2016), films made by Anurag Kashyap and Vishal Bharadwaj films and a lot has been shot in this part of India. So, my heart is in Lucknow but never got the opportunity to shoot here. I was just finding an excuse to come. The original film was shot at the same palace, and I found the location very good to shoot,” says Shankar.
He will be taking the story, screenplay and dialogue writer Ritesh Shah’s story forward. “The premises will be the same, but according to the South sensibilities, we made a lot of changes to the storyline. Ravi sir is aware of Hindi films. He has lived in Delhi, and he also loves Lucknow and we both are very excited to shoot there,” he adds.
Shankar has directed films like Gabbar Singh (2012) with Pawan Kalyan and Shruti Hassan (remake of Dabangg, 2009), Ramayya Vasthavayya (2013) with Jr NTR and Samantha and Duvvada Jagannadham (2017) with Allu Arjun and Pooja Hegde. He was accompanied by director of photography (DOP) Ayananka Bose and others during the recce.
The original film, directed by Rajkumar Gupta, was also largely shot at the palace besides Sethi House, Post-Master General office and the songs were shot at different locations.
“The plan is to shoot around 80% of the film in Lucknow and mainly at the Shivgarh Palace. The other parts will be shot in Hyderabad. The team dedicated the entire day at the palace to plan shooting modalities,” says line-producer Aroon Singh Dicky.
The shoot for the sequel of Rajkumar Gupta’s Raid with actor Ajay Devgn will begin in Lucknow from the second week of February. The film’s shooting has already commenced in Mumbai and besides its original location (Lucknow), it will also be shot in Rajasthan and Delhi.
“The technical team is arriving next week and the shoot will beging in the second week of February. They have zeroed in on around 70-80 locations and the final ones for shoots will be done next week,” adds Dicky