Are fans missing Gayathri Iyer in Raid 2?

CHENNAI: As Ajay Devgn returns with the second instalment of his hit crime thriller film, Raid, audiences question why the original film’s important character, Gayathri Iyer, was left out. Gayathri Venkatagiri, aka Gayathri Iyer, is an Indian actor and model who has acted in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil films and Hindi television. She made her mark with the first instalment of Raid in 2018, starring Ajay Devgn, Ileana D’Cruz, Saurabh Shukla and others. However, the second installment of the film, Raid 2, which was released in theatres on May 1, didn’t see Gayathri in the movie, which broke the hearts of fans.

Anticipation was around before the release of Raid 2 in theatres among audiences, which stars Ajay Devgn, Riteish Deshmukh and Vaani Kapoor, but a section of fans feel disappointed over the absence of actor Gayathri Iyer, who played a significant role in Raid. Gayathri debuted in Bollywood with Raid in 2018, where she portrayed the role of Mukta Yadav. Both the instalments, directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, are crime thrillers that have touched the right chord of audiences. However, not seeing Gayathri this time in the second installment definitely broke the hearts of her admirers.

Gayathri in Raid had played a pivotal role which helped her establish her on-screen presence in Bollywood. While Ajay led the cast as the no-nonsense income tax officer Amay Patnaik, supported by Ileana D’Cruz, Gayathri’s performance stood out among the ensemble cast. Raid 2 is said to be a high-stakes crime thriller that delves deeper into the corrupt underworld of white-collar crime. In the sequel, Ajay is seen confronting the corrupt nexus in Bhoj. While the new story brings in fresh and dynamic turns to the storyline, it appears the makers have sidelined some familiar faces from the original, like Gayathri.

Fans online reacted strongly after noticing Gayathri wasn’t cast for Raid 2. Many fans expressed that her grounded performance added more depth to the first part and hoped to see her reprise her role in some form.