Ra.One
Encyclopedia
Ra.One is a 2011
Indian
science fiction
superhero film
written and directed by Anubhav Sinha
. The film features Shahrukh Khan
in dual roles, and also stars Kareena Kapoor
, Armaan Verma
and Arjun Rampal
in the lead. Shahana Goswami
, Dalip Tahil
and Chinese-American actor Tom Wu
appear in supporting roles, along with Rajinikanth, Sanjay Dutt
and Priyanka Chopra
making guest appearances. The film follows Shekhar (Khan), a goofy game designer living and based in London
along with his wife (Kapoor) and son (Verma), who designs a motion-sensor
based game in which the villain is far more powerful than the hero. In the process, the villain escapes from the video game and begins to track down the only person ever to defeat him, Lucifer (Verma). Ra.One was jointly produced by Eros International and Khan's production company, Red Chillies Entertainment
. Initially expected to hit theatres on June 3, 2011, the release of the film was pushed back to the Diwali
weekend of October 26, 2011 due to extensive post-production
work involving special effects and 3D
conversion.
Development of the project commenced in 2004 when Sinha wrote a three-page short story based on a commercial he had seen. Upon finalizing the story, pre-production work began after the release of Khan's Om Shanti Om in 2007, with principal photography commencing in March 2009. In July 2011, it was announced that the entire film would be converted into 3D. The visual effects of the film were carried out by Red Chillies VFX, under the supervision of Hollywood effects technician Jeffrey Kleiser. With an estimated budget of , Ra.One is the second-most expensive film ever produced in Indian cinema
, following Enthiran (2010). In addition, an estimated was spent on marketing through various partnerships, which set the record for the largest marketing budget in India. The film faced multiple problems prior to its release, including censorship, soundtrack "leaks" and copyrights, the latter of which cost the producers . The film witnessed a level of publicity campaigning previously unseen in India films, with marketing taking place over a period of nine months and involving major brand tie-ups, merchandise, theme-based video games and extensive viral marketing. The film also faced uncertainty regarding the preparedness of the film for release, with several rumours and media stories that the film would not be completed on time.
Prior to its worldwide release, Ra.One had multiple premiere
s in Dubai
, London
and Toronto
during the period of October 24–26. The film released across 3,100 screens in India and 904 prints overseas in both 2D
and 3D
, and was also dubbed
in Tamil
and Telugu
, making it the largest Indian cinematic release in the world. Upon release, while the Indian critics gave mixed reviews, the overseas film critics received the film warmly. The film went on to break multiple box-office records, including highest Diwali day collections, highest single-day collections, highest three-day collections and biggest overseas collections of 2011. Within a week of its theatrical run, Box Office India declared the film a hit in India, and a week later, a super hit overseas, however was termed "average" by trade pundits. It is currently the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film worldwide according to Box Office India. The film has been widely praised for its visual effects and action, though criticism has been generated regarding its script and direction. Subsequently, the success of the effects and the 3D version of the film prompted multiple other Bollywood filmmakers to consider technology as a part of film-making, especially in view of the success of Ra.One and the inordinately higher returns generated from 3D ticket sales.
), an employee of UK
based Barron Industries, introduces a new technology in which objects from the digital world can be brought into the real world, using the wireless transmissions from multiple wireless devices. Shekhar Subramanium (Khan
), an employee of the same company, faces his last chance to come up with a video game with a difference. In order to impress his son Prateek (Verma
), and upon the request of his wife Sonia (Kapoor
), Shekhar takes his son’s idea that the antagonist should be more powerful than the protagonist.
Akashi (Wu
) provides the moves, Jenny does the programming and Shekhar gives his face to the protagonist G.One
, whilst the main antagonist Ra.One
is faceless with powers substantially overstepping those granted to G.One. The game has three levels, and either of the players can only be killed in the third level with his H.A.R.T. on their chests with a special gun that has only one bullet. While designing the game, Akashi notices some malfunctions, but ignores them. When the game is finally launched, it receives a standing ovation and Prateek loves it so much that he insists on playing it instantly. He logs in under the alias 'Lucifer' and gets down to the second level easily, but is eventually interrupted by Akashi as it is time to go home. Ra.One, never been beaten before and being unable to end his turn with Lucifer, swears that Lucifer shall die.
After the mainframe doesn't shut down, Akashi calls Shekhar who notices something seriously wrong. Ra.One (Rampal
) uses the initially introduced technology to come to life, kills Akashi, and goes after Shekhar to find out who is Lucifer. Shekhar rushes home but is also blocked by Ra.One on the way. In an attempt to save his son, Shekhar claims that he is Lucifer. However, Ra.One scans his I.D.
, and kills him for trying to hide Prateek. Upon noticing the strange case of his father’s death, Prateek realizes that Ra.One has come to life, and is after him. Along with Jenny, he tries to bring G.One to life. Sonia arrives and asks Prateek to leave with her for India. Ra.One, having taken the form of Akashi, chases them, but Sonia and Prateek are saved by G.One, who has entered the real world through Jenny's computer. G.One initiates a gas explosion which destroys Ra.One into constituent cubes, and takes his H.A.R.T. Finding it impossible to leave him, Sonia takes G.One to India with her through Shekhar’s passport. They go to their ancestral house and G.One promises her that he will save Prateek from any harm. Meanwhile, Ra.One returns to life and takes his humanized form of a model on a billboard and goes after G.One.
During Prateek's birthday party, Ra.One hypnotizes Sonia, assumes her form and kidnaps Prateek. He instructs G.One to give him his H.A.R.T. back and sends the real Sonia in an uncontrollable local train
in Mumbai
. G.One saves Sonia just at the nick of the time, and then goes back to save Prateek. The game begins with Prateek controlling G.One's moves. Following a lengthy fight, both of the characters finally reach the third level. With little powers left, the pair trick Ra.One into shooting G.One without his H.A.R.T. attached to him. Furious, Ra.One creates ten alternatives. Prateek is unable to differentiate the real one, until he asks G.One to quote one of Shekhar’s saying stored in his folder: "बुराई संग जो मेल रचाया, फिर कभी न छूटे उसका साया" ("If you join the forces of evil, its shadows shall always follow you"). The pair then realizes that only one of the ten Ra.Ones has a shadow. G.One shoots him and transports himself back to the digital world after absorbing Ra.One's remains. Several months later, Prateek and Sonia return back to the UK, where the former finally manages to restore G.One back to the real world.
, the idea of making Ra.One originated while he was watching a commercial on television six years ago. Sinha said, "The commercial dealt with two kids controlling a human with a remote. It was fascinating, and the visual stayed with me for some time." Sinha wrote a three-page short story based on the commercial, which he felt was good enough to be made into a film. Upon finalizing the story, he approached Shahrukh Khan
with the film in August 2005, and Khan instantly agreed to produce and star in it. Red Chillies Entertainment
's Keitan Yadav revealed that during the release of Main Hoon Na
(2004), Khan was keen on making a VFX-loaded film that was larger than life. His production company continued working on other projects and seeking for the right film until they finally decided on Ra.One. Prior to starting the film, Khan approached several directors to helm the project but they all refused due to various concerns.
Pre-production
work for the film began in November 2007 after the release of Khan's Om Shanti Om (2007). Sinha spent several months going through video clips, digital art portals and comic books; he later explained that this process helped him in creating a novel character. Khan stated that "When we started this film, the idea was can we make a simple film, about a husband, wife and child and then suddenly blow everyone's mind when they start fighting [...] So there were two films in one: the people who like the action...and those who like a family film." To prepare for the film's premises and characterization, Sinha and Khan watched as many as 200 superhero films in multiple languages from all over the world, including Spider-Man
(2002), Batman
(1989) and Krrish
(2006).
Since the start of principal photography, Ra.One has faced multiple allegations of plagiarism and similarities with other film projects, including the 2010 Tamil
science fiction film Enthiran. When asked about this, Khan noted: "I got inspired from a lot of superhero movies but the movie is original. In fact, Ra.One will be the first superhero-based movie in the world in which the superhero lives in a family." Commenting on Enthiran, he remarked, "they [both] are different films. I will not like to talk about anyone else's film but Rajni sir is respectable to all of us."
to take up the title role of a villain in the film, to which he readily agreed, and Kareena Kapoor
was later signed on to play the female lead. Child actor Armaan Verma
was required to go through several audition processes until he was finally selected to play the role of Prateek. During an appearance on the chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
, Khan stated that Jackie Chan
was "approached for a role in the film". Khan had reportedly sent Chan the detailed script of the film, along with the action sequences and a brief synopsis of his character; it was later confirmed that Chan would not be part of the project. In July 2010, it was announced that Chinese-American
actor Tom Wu
would be part of the film.
Actors Sanjay Dutt
and Priyanka Chopra
were confirmed to make guest appearances whilst actor Rajinikanth was slated to perform in a special scene where he would be reprising his role of Chitti from Enthiran (2010), the background score for which [a single scene involving Khan and Rajinikanth] was scored by A. R. Rahman
. The actor shot for the film on 2 October 2011 at Subhash Ghai
's Whistling Woods Studios in Mumbai with his daughter Soundarya
despite some health problems. To minimize strain on the actor, the shoot was finished in a few hours and the scenes were digitally transferred into the necessary backgrounds later on. Several days later, it was announced that Amitabh Bachchan
would be doing a voice-over for an important scene in the film.
Ra.Ones shooting was originally supposed to begin in Miami, USA, but due to budget concerns this was scrapped. The first phase of filming began in India in March 2010 and continued until May in Mumbai's Film City
and Goa. While filming, Khan admitted to finding difficulties with the rubber-made costume that was specially designed for his character, later commenting: "The costume was designed in a way that I had to take the help of girls to get into it and vice-versa. I wasn’t allowed to eat or drink much in between the shoots [...] By the time, the shooting of the film was wrapped up; I ended up losing ten kilos." Verma, who plays Khan's son in the film, had to learn the Brazilian martial arts dance Capoeira
in preparation for his role. A chase scene along a Mumbai suburban train, in which Khan jumped from one compartment to another while Kapoor operated the train, received objections from the city government as they feared that the scene would entice teenagers to emulate the stunts. Subsequently, a disclaimer was added to the movie warning youngsters to refrain from performing any dangerous stunts shown in the film.
Production of the film's second and third phase occurred with the entire cast in London, which included a song sequence being shot in a restaurant from where the London Bridge
was visible and a heavy duty action scene involving Khan and Kapoor. During this period, a picture of Kapoor's character was also revealed to the media. The film's final phase commenced at Filmistan Studio in December 2010 and was shot over seven days. The remaining portions were shot in Mumbai and completed in July 2011. While shooting for the film in Mumbai, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
visited Yash Raj Studios, to watch Khan at work. In order to celebrate the film's completion, a wrap-up party was held at the end of the month in Mumbai. A music video for the song "Raftaarein", choreographed by Feroz Khan
and picturised on Shahrukh Khan, was shot one week before release. Talking about the decision to make the last minute addition to the film, Sinha said: ""Raftaarein" was initially just a melody playing in a background sequence. But [the song] has got unanimously great reviews and has amazing energy. I thought why not shoot a music video and put it in the film."
was roped in as the director of photography
, with V. Manikandan
providing extra assistance, and Martin Walsh
was responsible to edit the film. Sound designer Resul Pookutty
was assigned the duty of enhancing the sound effects with the use of the Dolby Surround 7.1
system. In an interview, he explained, "Ra.One is not just a movie experience [...] It requires a very unconventional sound and visual quality for which we are installing the required equipment." In October 2011, post-production
work on Ra.One faced a minor setback when Pookutty's studio-space in Andheri, Mumbai got flooded, and eventually damaged some of the film's footage.
Due to the revived interest in 3D technology in India, the makers of the film announced that they were contemplating on turning portions of the movie into 3D. Khan revealed that parts of the film may be converted to 3D, provided tests and screen-shots of some scenes of the film were deemed satisfactory by the technical crew. However, there was a good deal of skepticism regarding such conversions, especially since 3D shooting required completely different types of cameras. In July 2011, it was announced that the entire film would be converted into 3D, a process that required the collaboration of around 1,000 individuals. Prime Focus
, which had gained considerable experience from performing 3D conversions of major Hollywood productions The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
(2010) and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), were tasked with the 3D conversion of Ra.One. A separate conversion facility was created solely for the purpose of the 3D conversion of the film.
Initially, the prints of Ra.One were expected to be ready a month prior to its release. However, the post-production work took up a considerably longer time to complete than was initially expected, triggering fears that the film may not be able to reach its Diwali deadline. Three studios worked around-the-clock to get the film ready before its scheduled release date. Pookutty stated in a report: "[The crew] working on the post-production of Ra.One are in a high-energy zone. We are racing against time [and over] the next two weeks there are going to be number of sleepless nights to make sure [the film] gets into theatres on time." Ten days before the film's release, Khan reportedly became upset over the post-production crew for severe delays in the process of digital inter-mediation in the film. Sinha however commented that "there are a lot of things happening in the post-production activities. We all are working hard towards it. But everything is fine." As the film approached its release, Khan personally verified the progress on a day-to-day basis, with complete reports regarding the status of completion. Increased workload was also attributed to "multiplied work" due to the various versions (3D, Tamil, Telugu, etc.) of the film. It was also confirmed that all studios working on the film's visual effects had been released, as "not much of the work on visual effects is left [...] There are very few details left that are being worked upon. Once that is done, we will go to print." On October 21, Sinha tweeted
that the film had been completed.
techniques being incorporated in the production of Ra.One. In an interview, Harry Hingorani (production director of Red Chillies VFX
) stated that "[the company] was set up in 2006 [...] Khan wanted to make something big involving VFX and that was the intension behind starting [it]." Extensive research was carried out by the crew, and no other films were accepted by the studio post My Name Is Khan
(2010), with special focus on setting up proper software and creating "the right team" during pre-production itself. To minimize the risk of future delays, the task of adding special effects was outsourced to multiple specialty studios around the globe, including in the United States, London
, Paris
and Bangkok
. In addition, Prime Focus also provided digital and visual effects services to Red Chillies VFX for the film.
Impressed by the work he had seen in the 1994 Hollywood release
Stargate
, Jeff Kleiser was hired by Khan as the supervisor of visual effects in May 2010. A team of 750 technicians under Kleiser carried out the addition of special effects into the film. Special effects creator Robert Kurtzman
was assigned to design the suits of Khan and Rampal's characters. The suits were made by a team of specialists based in Los Angeles
, California
. While both the actors shot the film wearing a simple suit, a good deal of sparkle and polishing was later added to enhance its look.
The film is reported to have close to 3,500 VFX shots (occupying about 135 minutes of footage), with 800 of them being solely dedicated to G.One's suit alone, thus exceeding the total amount of shots that was used in the 2009 Hollywood film
Avatar. Khan later singled out one process, explaining that it took nearly six days (137 hours) to create a single frame shot of glass flying on his character. Keitan Yadav notes: "There is no software or technique in the industry that we have not used for this film. For 3D, we have used software like Maya, Houdini
and Macs. For composites, we have used Nuke
and Shake
. We have even written our own programmes. We programmed certain things rather than doing them manually."
The film's visual effects have generated massive curiosity among moviegoers, film distributors and critics, and have been labelled as "the best India has ever seen [and] on par with Hollywood". Hingorani stated that "60% of the film is visual effects. There are 37 sequences in all, and they were considerably difficult and time-consuming." Jeff Kleiser commented that the most challenging part of Ra.One was creating the cubic transformations for the lead characters. It was later found out that the incorporation of visual effects was the main reason behind the increased time for post-production. The final batch of visual effects were delivered a week before the scheduled release. As a result, the crew had only two days to complete the film and send it for printing, further increasing anxiety regarding the film's release.
of Ra.One, released by T-Series on 12 September 2011, was composed by Vishal-Shekhar
with lyrics penned by Atahar Panchi, Vishal Dadlani and Kumaar. Director Anubhav Sinha announced that R&B singer Akon
would be recording two songs for the film whilst the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra would also be making a contribution. The makers of the film have complied with international copyright laws and have obtained the license to use Ben E. King
's "Stand By Me
", on which they have based the song "Dildaara". The album features fifteen tracks, including seven original songs, four remixes, three instrumentals and an international version of "Chammak Challo
". Subsequently, the Tamil and Telugu versions of the film's soundtrack were released on 10 October 2011 featuring six tracks each.
for a then-record sum of , surpassing the previous record set by 3 Idiots (2009) of . The film's music rights were bought by T-Series for whilst the distribution rights were acquired by Eros Entertainment
for . The distribution rights for the film in Tamil Nadu
and Kerala
were bagged by Abirami Ramanathan
for a reportedly record, but undisclosed price. Ra.One set a new record for total pre-release revenue earned, netting , and surpassed the previous record held by 3 Idiots, which had netted .
Promotion of the film officially began as early as December 2010 when the first poster was published in all leading news papers across the country. The film's first look was later unveiled by Khan on his Twitter
page on January 1, 2011. Several months later, director Anubhav Sinha announced that he would be launching two teaser trailers of the film during the 2011 Cricket World Cup
, a prior nine months before the film's actual release date. Asked about why he was launching the film's trailer so early, Sinha commented, "Ra.One is not a Bollywood film that [the audiences] have seen before. The kind of size and magnitude that the film has requires it to be slowly introduced to the audience and that is the very purpose why we are starting the whole communication so early." The film's first theatrical trailer was released three months later to the public. As a way to promote the theatrical trailer, Khan was accompanied by the director on a five city tour, which included such places like Delhi
, Chandigarh
, Indore
and Ahmedabad
. During the same event, a 3600 ft long fan mail collecting audience wishes and messages for the film was also launched.
On 3 June 2011, the official website of the film was hacked by suspected Pakistani cyber criminals who stated that the act was a form of revenge to a similar attack on a Karachi
press club website, three days after the launch of the page. They also left a note threatening the Indian Press Club, defacing the homepage. In early September, Red Chillies Entertainment (RCE) launched a sizeable viral marketing
campaign for promoting the film more effectively in the online arena. The company launched the official customized Ra.One channel of the film on YouTube
(a first for an Indian film) where several song and theatrical promos were released to the public, along with videos of the film's making, events and uncut footage. The channel also hosts games, including the first social game from India, and contests where participants can create promos from clips, music and dialogues of the film.
In addition to YouTube, Khan announced that the film would also subsidize through major brand ties-up worth over , some of which included the Formula One
races, Nokia
, Godrej Consumer Products
, Coca-Cola
, HCL, Horlicks
, HomeShop18
and multiple live chats conducted on Google Plus
for which Khan became the first Indian film personality to utilize. Three weeks before the film's release, a mass media campaign was launched by Western Union
for international promotions. Encompassing platforms such as the radio, television, print media and outdoor advertising, it was launched in the U.S., Canada
, the Middle East
, Africa
and Asia-Pacific
as a way to connect with the millions of non-resident Indians
across the world. Co-producers and distributors of the film, Eros International, released an official statement stating that along with RCE, they have recovered a major portion of their investments through in-film branding, media endorsements, and other music and satellite rights.
The look of the film's titular character, Ra.One
, portrayed by Rampal, was heavily guarded and kept under strict wraps, with the entire filming unit required to keep mobile phones away from shooting locations, and signing non-disclosure agreements. The first look of the character was initially scheduled to be revealed on the eve of Dussehra. According to the producers, the time was chosen to show the symbolism between Ra.One and the mythological villain Ravana
(of the Ramayana
), both of whom are supposedly "equally bad". Due to certain technical glitches, it was later revealed in the film's final theatrical trailer to a positive response. Commenting on the response to his look in the film, Rampal noted: "The response has been phenomenal. People have liked my look. I am glad I have not disappointed anyone as there was so much anticipation for the film. I was petrified initially, wondering if my look would be appreciated and accepted. But it has been worth the wait."
declared a tie-up with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
(SCEE) to build a full cycle game of the film on PlayStation
. Released on October 5 at an event in Mumbai, "Ra.One - The Game" offers more than 20 game environments, features original voice-overs from the actors and is available on PlayStation 2
and PlayStation 3
; the former being available for the Indian market and the latter for the international market. Khan volunteered to write the game script, dub for the game, and even oversaw the entire technical development. The project boasts of a series of firsts: a first full cycle PlayStation 3 blu-ray disc
game developed with an Indian developer; first console game to be dubbed by a leading Bollywood actor and also the first Bollywood title to appear in a full cycle video game.
SCEE has invested around to license the Ra.One IP and an additional in the marketing and promotions of the game, which includes offline promotions and television advertisements of nearly 250 ad spots. At the time of its launch, 21,000 game consoles were sold and 100,000 units are expected to be sold across India alone. On October 14, a gaming tournament titled "The Ra.One Nvidia
GeForce lan" was held in Mumbai. The event, which hosted over 1000 gamers competing against each other, featured several popular games such as FIFA, Counter-Strike
and Call of Duty
, and was telecast live on YouTube, showcasing digital innovation by means of live interactive contests, puzzles etc.
In addition to launching the video game, Red Chillies also collaborated with UTV Indiagames
to design a social game based on the film named the Ra.One Genesis. The game reached the No. 1 position on the iTunes store within 24 hours of its launch, becoming the first ever Bollywood movie app to be top-featured on iPhone
and iPad
. It also became the most downloaded game in India
, Sri Lanka
, Pakistan
and Malaysia within 24 hours of being launched. An investment of around , the storyline of the game is not borrowed from or similar to that of the movie though it is based on the character of G.One
. The game was launched across platforms like mobiles, tablet PCs
, the direct-to-home platform and social networking sites like Facebook
. According to the company's digital and new media head Shailja Gupta, the idea behind the digital marketing is to create a franchisee for Ra.One. She explained, "Social gaming
is just one part of the digit marketing strategy. The unique part of the social game is the integration of merchandise and gaming."
to market a variety of merchandises related to the film. Products included original G.One
tee shirts, coffee mugs, wrist bands, watches, mobile pouches, video cameras, as well as many other things. Similar products were also available for purchase on the official G.One online store, which was launched alongside the film's official website. 90% of the 400,000 stationery items and toys were sold in 15 days and an additional 100,000 were ordered. The makers spent on the mold for the G.One action figure. In addition to this, a jewellery line inspired by the symbol of "Ra.One", as well as a series of HCL laptops with customized integrated Ra.One skin were also made available to the public. Moreover, Red Chillies Entertainment collaborated with UTV Indiagames
to develop digital comics based on the film's characters. Written by Khan, the comic featured weekly episodes and served as a prequel to the events happening in the movie.
, London
and Toronto
, all of which were chosen keeping in mind their large international significance, as well as the presence of large South Asia
n populations.
The film's first international premiere was held in Dubai on 24 October 2011 at the Grand Cinemas, Wafi
, along with co-stars Kareena Kapoor
and Arjun Rampal
, followed by a high-profile dinner and charity auction, where Khan had raised K.D
30,000 for building a workshop for children with special needs. The premiere is notably first Indian film to sell tickets for its shows, as well as to have three simultaneous screenings for the event. The London premiere of the film took place at the O2 Cineworld
the following day, while the Toronto
premiere took place at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on 26 October. Due to a conflict with Kapoor's scheduled appearance at Madame Tussauds
, it was later announced that the actress would not be attending the film's premiere in Toronto.
Following up to its release, Ra.One surpassed several records among Indian films for the volume of theatrical release in India and worldwide. Nationally, the film released in 3,100 screens, breaking the record of Bodyguard (2011), which released in 2,700 screens. Overseas, it is currently expected to release in around 1,500 screens in 904 prints, with 600 screens in Germany
, 250 screens in South Korea
, 25 prints in Taiwan
and New Zealand
, 75 prints in Russia
, 79 prints in the Middle East
, 344 prints in USA, 51 prints in Australia
, 202 prints in the UK and 49 prints in Canada
. A reported partnership deal is being finalised by the distributors, which will allow the film to release in China
with 1,000 prints. Moreover, Ra.One 3D version released in 550 selected screens around the world. The Tamil and Telugu versions released with 275 and 125 prints respectively. The film's release has also been noted for its wide use of digital prints, as an effort to bring down distribution costs, release the film to a wider audience and also reduce piracy. A week prior to its release, multiplex owners across India decided to allot the project with 95% of the total available screen space. The film also faced some uncertainty concerning the release of 3D version on time. However, Khan clarified that 3D version will be released on the set date, in the microblogging
site Twitter
.
to receive an official rating. Upon submitting the script, the Board showed strong objections to the film's action scenes as they felt that it would influence young children into emulating them. After much deliberation, the film was passed with a 'U' certificate without any cuts, but only under the condition that it would display prominent disclaimers stating that the stunts should not be imitated and were computer-generated.
, pleading for a stay in the film's release until he was given due credit or 10% of the film's overall profit. The court, observing the prima facie evidence that there had been copyright violations, asked the filmmakers to deposit on 21 October with the court before releasing the film. However, challenging the court decision, Patnaik lately had demanded the producers to give him credit and not cash. Sinha, on the other hand, claimed that he had developed the film's story.
at par with Hollywood films, while the other complained about the flawed script. According to review aggregator Review Gang, professional critics have given the film an average rating of 50%.
Taran Adarsh
of Bollywood Hungama
gave the film a score of 4.5 out of 5 and said, "Ra.One is the most ambitious, most expensive and the most technologically complex Hindi film ever made. It pushes the envelope further ... It is a film that will rewrite the textbook of computer graphics in Hindi cinema. At the same time, it is very Indian at heart." Khalid Mohamed from Deccan Chronicle gave it 4 out of 5 stars, concluding, "Here’s a technical accomplishment with as much heart as hardware". Manjari Saxena of Gulf News
also gave the film a positive review, awarding it 4 stars out of 5 and writing that it is "a fun movie to catch and will definitely run full house during the Diwali weekend." Nikhat Kazmi
from The Times of India
rated the film 3.5 stars out of 5, mentioning that the film is "Ra.One is sure to usher in a crackling Diwali at the box office and give the audience paisa vasool entertainment, with fine performances by both Shah Rukh and Kareena. Even young Armaan is efficient. Go have a blast." Rachit Gupta of Filmfare
gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, saying "Ra.One is an enjoyable sci-fi and CGI fiesta that will transport you to a world of kooky fantasy and video game heroes." Subhash K Jha gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, commenting "Ra.One is a saucy, sassy, scintillating super-hero film which knows exactly when to let the narrative flow in a furious frenzy of hyper-activity, and when to brake the goings-on just before the hysterical happenings topple into the realm of irretrievable absurdity." K.K. Rai of Stardust
gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars as well, commenting that, "Ra.One is a visual treat with top notch computer graphics and other use of high-tech gadgetry. It is certainly better than anything Bollywood has offered so far, and is more in consonance with standards of Hollywood. Anubhav’s execution of the screenplay is perfect, and pacing most suitable to the genre of the flick." Komal Nahta
of Koimoi.com also gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, praising the performances by the lead actors but adding that the story (based on gaming and technology) would be difficult for the older generation to comprehend. The Indo-Asian News Network
also gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars stating that "Ra.One is still probably one of the classiest movies seen in the Hindi film industry and a feather in Anubhav's hat." Kaveri Bamzai of India Today
gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5, noting, "Welcome to a movie as a gigantic open house. This is film-making not so much as noble passion but as grand indulgence, not so much as a marathon magic show but as an event to be managed." Soumyadipta Banerjee of DNA India gave the film 3.5 stars, saying "The real story is the way the film is carried forward and the special effects. It’s worth a worth. It might be not be a good idea to watch it for the second time around though." Aniruddha Guha of DNA India gave it 3 stars and said "Ra.One is beautiful in appearance, but empty within. Which is a pity. Anubhav could have really made a mark with this one." Sanchari Bhattacharya from Rediffcalled the film "escapist entertainment" giving it 3 out of 5 stars.
Daily Bhaskar
gave it 3 out of 5 stars, pointing out that "Ra.One is surely crafted as a kids’ entertainer, The movie is a joyful cinematic experience for game enthusiasts." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV
awarded the film 3 out of 5 stars, saying "Ra.One packs in just about everything under the sun and the moon so that the paying public goes home feeling they haven’t been shortchanged. It trundles along all right but never quite hits the high roads." Gaurav Malani from The Economic Times
gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, remarking "Though the sci-fi concept seems too far-fetched, the director is able to pull it off with visual dazzlery and fast-paced storytelling that the genre demands. The action sequences are thrillingly and credibly choreographed." Oneindia.in
gave the film a positive review as well, saying "The movie surely goes beyond everyone's imagination. Besides raising the bar for Hindi films, the flick also appeals to the universal audience [...] Shahrukh Khan's stellar performance is the major attraction of the film".
Some critics gave the film an average (mixed) review. Rajeev Masand
of CNN-IBN gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, praising Khan's performance but arguing that, "while this superhero film has plenty sound and fury, it's sorely lacking slickness." Sonia Chopra from Sify
gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, stating "Ra.One is a visual extravaganza and fun enough. The only reason one stops short of recommending Ra.One is the sporadic adult content that has no business being in a film for kids. Too bad, really." Sukanya Verma of Rediff argued that "The 3D version of Ra.One has nothing extra to offer" giving it 2.5 out of 5 stars. Shubha Shetty-Shah of Mid-Day gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, saying "Ra.One manages to stumble and falter, in spite of all the crutches that it has been provided with. [It's] a revolting khichdi of sorts. The extra half star is for the visual effects and for that intention to make it king size."
The film did receive some negative reviews as well. Mayank Shekhar
from Hindustan Times
gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, wrote, "Neither here nor there, everything appears so visibly constructed and all over the place that you can look through the wires, rather than blend in with the experience." Aseem Chhabra of Rediff.com
criticised the film for its "muddled script" and gave it 2 out of 5 stars, stating "There are video games that kids play, but then they shut them off, after they win or lose. Finally, Ra.One has a similar forgettable quality." Rediff reviewers Raja Sen and Abhishek Mande gave the film 1.5 and 2 stars out of 5 respectively, while Arthur J. Pais and Saisuresh Sivaswamy rated it 1.5 and 2 out of 5 stars, with the latter arguing that "the film offers no emotional connect with the audience even as its story flops in the telling." Kunal Guha of Yahoo! Movies
panned the film, saying that "Ra.One does what no other sci-fi movie has done before: it mocks itself. It's convenient to say that if you have no expectations from the film, you wouldn't be disappointed." Zee News
said that "The film has its moments but they are far and few in between. Some of the scenes are surely entertaining but when one goes to watch a SRK film, one hopes to be entertained throughout, and sadly Ra.One fails to do so." Sanjukta Sharma of Mint
argued that the film is a "haphazard medley of Iron Man
, The Matrix
, Superman
, Terminator 2 and age-old disappearing and levitating acts we’ve seen over and over again in no-brainer Rajnikanth blockbusters ... Anubhav Sinha’s Ra.One is a spectacular disappointment." The Mumbai Mirror
rated the film 2 out of a 5 stars, appraising the action sequences but criticizing the writing. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express
gave the film 2 stars and said that "Ra.One is a superstarry slurry sludge, with just the occasional consolatory sparkle."
rates the film at 75% "Fresh" (83% for top critics), and Metacritic
, gave the film a 60% rating.
Kirk Honeycutt from The Hollywood Reporter
gave the film a favorable review, adding: "India’s first attempt at a superhero movie is both vigorous and emotionally fulfilling within the context of Bollywood traditions."
Rubina A. Khan from The First Post
praised the film as a whole, stating that "Anubhav Sinha, the director of the film, has done a marvelous job in the action sequences [...] The emotional scenes, too are very engaging — despite all the digital wizardry going on in the film." J. Hurtado of Twitch
gave the film a positive review, saying "Ra.One is a stunning action film, with stunts that would hold up with the best of any Hollywood action film. [...] All of the emotion that the film delivers serves the story both in terms of plot development and theme, and it is very seldom gratuitous. [It is] a supremely entertaining action adventure that should be able to cross language lines and find fans in any community." Rachel Saltz of The New York Times
gave the film a positive review, highlighting "Ra.One is a kind of entertainment machine set to dazzle, Hindi cinema with a crush on high-tech." Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times
said, "Ra.One is Bollywood at its best. It has energy, spectacle and humor, song and dance, but razzle-dazzle special effects and action stunts never overwhelm its story of enduring love that unfolds amid an intricate and inspired sci-fi odyssey". Joe Neumaier from New York Daily News gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, saying "Ra.One has a witty sense of punky, gaming-style esthetics that American blockbusters try for but can't quite achieve." Andrew O'Hehir from Salon
wrote, "From dazzling dance numbers to post-Matrix action, RA. One showcases Bollywood's confidence." John Anderson of Variety
gave the film an average review, stating "Along with Khan's presence, it's the effects that sell Ra.One, and they arrive more or less nonstop. Rather than incorporate the technology into the story, Sinha's CG acrobatics become the equivalent of a wide receiver doing backflips in the endzone - amusing, but beside the point." International Business Times
particularly praised the performance of Shahrukh Khan and stated that the chemistry between him and his son, played by Armaan Verma, dazzles throughout the film: "He [Khan] is wonderful as always. He fits into the role superbly .... His chemistry with his son Prateek in the film is wonderful ... Ra.One is an excellent superhero film; a complete entertainer."
Tamara Baluja of The Globe and Mail
gave the film one out of four stars. Although she called the special effects "fantastic", she panned the movie as a whole. Simon Abrams of Slant
also gave it one out of four stars and wrote: "Ra.Ones indifferently demeaning scenario proves just how meaningless its creators' supposedly good intentions really are." Bloomberg too rated the film with one out of four stars, saying "While no one was expecting The Dark Knight
from this film’s makers, they could potentially have matched the entertaining and goofy Hellboy
. Sadly, Khan and director Anubhav Sinha fail to understand the idiom of superhero cinema." Avash Karmacharya of MyRepublica
too panned the film's plot and added, "the biggest problem of the movie, however, is the lack of a solid storyline." Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Reuters
gave the film a negative review for being "less of a movie and more of a product that is tailor-made to audiences looking for a Diwali movie."
festivities, which took a toll on the evening shows. The morning opening was described "historic" by several trade analysts. Generally, the 3D version of the film saw better occupancy levels than the 2D version. Families and children comprised the major demographics of Ra.Ones audience.
On the first day, Ra.One collected from the Hindi version and an estimated from the Tamil and Telugu versions, taking its all-India total to . It set records for the biggest Diwali opening day ever by beating Golmaal 3
(8.72 crore), The lesser total was attributed to a fall in evening collections, caused due to festive celebrations and pujas. However, on the second day, Ra.One set records throughout the nation by collecting in the Hindi version and hence surpassing the biggest single-day record in India held by Bodyguard. The third day collection of the film Hindi version netted at , and has again set a record three day collection of nett, by surpassing previous record by Bodyguard (52.6 crores). The Tamil and Telugu versions of the film also collected around nett over three days, giving it a total of nett for all three languages. The film's Hindi version collected nett on its fourth day, with four days collection totaling around nett. As of five days extended first weekend, the film had collected about from all its versions. At the end of seven days, the Hindi Ra.One netted in India with best collections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu/Kerala and Mysore. Ra.One (Hindi) was ranked second in the top ten first seven day domestic collection, next to Bodyguard. As of nine days extended first week, the film's Hindi version collection netted , while Tamil and Telugu versions collection totaled at .
Ra.One (Hindi) netted in its second week, declining 80% from its previous three-day opening weekend. The film's net total grew to in 12 days. The film saw a good second Monday owing to "Eid" by collecting nett taking the four day second weekend to around . In the second week, Ra.One netted from the Hindi version, taking its two-week total to nett, an 84% drop compared to the extended first week collections. In its third week, Ra.One lost most of its screening space due to the release of Rockstar
, and hence declined by 90% to . The total net collections, by the end of the fourth week, from Hindi version of the film alone, were .
, £
908,768 in UK
, $250,000"$" implies United States dollar
in Pakistan
, $349,899 in Australia
, $1,509,624 in UAE, $91,135 in New Zealand
and $40,658 in Fiji
, in addition to very strong openings in Singapore
and other East Asia
n countries. As of its second week, Ra.One had crossed the $8 million mark with business of around $8.25 million, and thus became the highest-grossing Bollywood film overseas in 2011. In 3 weeks, Ra.One collected $8.6 million making it the fifth highest grossing film ever in the overseas market. As of November 24, 2011, Eros International stated that the film made more than $10 million in the overseas market.
(2004) and Chak De! India (2007).
Some trade analysts were, however, quite positive about the film. As noted by Ormax Media, a specialist consumer research company for films, Ra.One set records for Buzz and Reach among films even six weeks before release. Such high figures maintained right till the release date. Moreover, Ra.Ones unique and vast marketing campaign, which utilized concepts previously unheard of in Indian films, was cited as a smart business move that would make the film reach as big an audience as possible. It was also widely noted that in spite of the high cost of the movie and the seemingly risky venture, Khan managed to recover most of the film's production costs well before the release time through various film rights and sponsor tie-ups. As time progressed, the layered marketing campaign coupled with extensive brand tie-ups and new concepts built up to a very high expectation level among the audiences. The public were comparing it to previous Indian superhero and science-fiction films such as Mr. India (1987), Krrish
(2006), Drona
(2008) and Enthiran (2010), Drona being a major box office failure
, as well as American superhero films like Batman Begins
(2005) and more frequently Tron: Legacy (2010).
With time, the promotional overdrive surrounding the film began to evoke strong reactions from viewers and box office trackers. Much debate ensued regarding the fate of the film due to over-promotion, with speculations that the "carpet bombing" strategy would backfire on the film in the end. The omnipresence of Ra.One had the unintended effect of widely popularizing a series of internet and SMS jokes based on the film, several of them targeting the film's publicity drive and, post-release, the film itself. Khan, however, was unfazed by the huge popularity of these jokes, saying "Some people have devoted their lives to writing about how Ra.One is not a good film. But I am glad, since people are discussing it, it pretty much shows how the film hasn’t been ignored." The promotional overdrive also showed that Khan had "bet it all" with the film. Outlook India commented that "Stardom, brand value, ambition, reputation: Shahrukh’s bet it all on Ra.One. No wonder he has never hardsold a film like this one." The nature of Khan's role in the film, that of a superhero, was unfamiliar to Khan's usual fans who generally recognize him as a romantic actor with "arched brows, deep dimples, perennially outstretched arms and a sarcastic half-smile". Filmmaker Paromita Vohra, a fan of Khan, commented "Will the superhero have traces of the SRK I love or not?", a feeling echoed by many others. Author Supriya Mandangarli noted that "the SRK persona has not been so much about aggressive masculinity as about nostalgia, the reason why Ra.One seems a big risk." It has been widely known that Ra.One was Khan's biggest gamble.
However, the reasons behind marketing the film in such a manner was attributed to a personal ambition to regain the numero uno status in the film industry. Columnist Anil Thakraney said "It’s not so much about money as about prestige, about getting the rightful plank back. SRK is no more the lone King Khan he has been for almost two decades. [He] has continued to retain the No. 1 slot in the overseas market but his domestic ranking has tumbled." However, trade experts were confident of the film's success. Lyricist Prasoon Joshi
stated that "He [Khan] understands the 360 degrees of the game. He is available to the consumer at any touch point." However, it was noted that to get back all that was at stake, it would have to run for a long period of time in theaters, and not be like the short-lived Bodyguard or Singham
. Image guru Dilip Cherian said "SRK is building the film as a franchise much as Hollywood studios do. It’s like bludgeoning the market into submission."
Post release, Ra.One generated a mixed response from the audiences as well as critics. Opinions of the film varied widely, which is visible given that the user ratings from the film ranged from 1.5 to 4.5 stars out of 5. While audiences unanimously praised the visual effects and technical aspects of the film, many were left feeling the need of a better and more original script. Vats commented that "Ra.One banked upon mammoth promotional drive in order to pull the audiences to the theatres and therefore mixed reviews actually have brought down the fever a bit. The focus on technical fineness has made Ra.One an experience worth watching but the hype around the film has begun to fizz away." While children and teenagers unanimously loved the movie, adults were critical of it. A major short-coming of the film was that it failed to connect with Khan's own built-in fan base. Noted film producer Pritish Nandy
echoed these sentiments by saying "I'm no fan of SRK but I must say, even if it disappoints you all, I enjoyed Ra.One. [...]The problem with [it] is that it does not connect with SRK's own fan base. They were cursing the film and walking out."
It has been generally accepted that the film failed to meet the very high expectations, and hence negativity about the film spread. A member of the film's production unit commented, "The attention was now diverted to speculating the figures, hinting at the figures not being true. It has now come to point of being nasty." Reportedly, Khan was upset with the kind of negative word-of-mouth around the film which he felt was "a clever marketing strategy to undercut the film when it was going on at full-steam in the theatres." Nandy, in addition to several other viewers, reported about "random people coming up to the audience and asking them to go back rather than watch the film" in several multiplexes across Mumbai.
Bollywood films of 2011
A list of films produced by the Bollywood film industry based in Mumbai to be released in 2011. The year 2010 has numerous films in production to be released in 2011 and beyond, as well as films that have announced release dates but have yet to begin filming. Some films in production do not have...
Indian
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
superhero film
Superhero film
A superhero film, superhero movie, or superhero motion picture is: action, fantasy and science fiction film; that is focused on the actions of one or more superheroes, individuals who usually possess superhuman abilities relative to a normal person and are dedicated to protecting the public...
written and directed by Anubhav Sinha
Anubhav Sinha
Anubhav Sinha is an Indian film director known for his work in Tum Bin and Shahrukh Khan starrer Ra.One.-Biography:...
. The film features Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
in dual roles, and also stars Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor , often informally referred to as Bebo, is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has received six Filmfare Awards, among nine nominations, and has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary...
, Armaan Verma
Armaan Verma
Armaan Verma is an Indian film child actor working in Hindi Bollywood films. He is best known for his portrayal of a game designer's son in the 2011 mega-budget film Ra.One, starring alongside Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal.- Career :...
and Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal , born 26 November 1972, is an award-winning Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films, as well as a fashion model.- Film career :...
in the lead. Shahana Goswami
Shahana Goswami
Shahana Goswami is an Indian actress who works in Bollywood films.-Career:Shahana had a single-minded focus on professional acting since childhood. She moved to Mumbai to complete her graduation and to explore the possibility of taking up acting as a career. In Mumbai, her first steps in acting...
, Dalip Tahil
Dalip Tahil
Dalip Tahil is an Indian film, television and theatre actor. He did his schooling from the elite Sherwood College in Nainital, India and later graduated from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.-Films:...
and Chinese-American actor Tom Wu
Tom Wu
Tom Wu is Chinese-American actor, born in Hong Kong and grew up in Chinatown, London. He is a martial arts expert who has starred in films like Revolver,Shanghai Knights, Batman Begins and the Bollywood sci-fi blockbuster Ra.One....
appear in supporting roles, along with Rajinikanth, Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Dutt is an Indian Hindi film actor and politician. Dutt, son of Hindi film actors Sunil and Nargis Dutt, made his acting debut in 1981.-Personal life:...
and Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 2000. She is often referred to by the nickname "Piggy Chops", which was given to her by co-stars on the set of the film...
making guest appearances. The film follows Shekhar (Khan), a goofy game designer living and based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
along with his wife (Kapoor) and son (Verma), who designs a motion-sensor
Motion Controller
A motion controller controls the motion of some object. Frequently motion controllers are implemented using digital computers, but motion controllers can also be implemented with only analog components as well.-Implementation:...
based game in which the villain is far more powerful than the hero. In the process, the villain escapes from the video game and begins to track down the only person ever to defeat him, Lucifer (Verma). Ra.One was jointly produced by Eros International and Khan's production company, Red Chillies Entertainment
Red Chillies Entertainment
Red Chillies Entertainment is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company, based in Mumbai. The company was founded in 2002 by Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan...
. Initially expected to hit theatres on June 3, 2011, the release of the film was pushed back to the Diwali
Diwali
Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
weekend of October 26, 2011 due to extensive post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
work involving special effects and 3D
Stereoscopy
Stereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...
conversion.
Development of the project commenced in 2004 when Sinha wrote a three-page short story based on a commercial he had seen. Upon finalizing the story, pre-production work began after the release of Khan's Om Shanti Om in 2007, with principal photography commencing in March 2009. In July 2011, it was announced that the entire film would be converted into 3D. The visual effects of the film were carried out by Red Chillies VFX, under the supervision of Hollywood effects technician Jeffrey Kleiser. With an estimated budget of , Ra.One is the second-most expensive film ever produced in Indian cinema
Cinema of India
The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...
, following Enthiran (2010). In addition, an estimated was spent on marketing through various partnerships, which set the record for the largest marketing budget in India. The film faced multiple problems prior to its release, including censorship, soundtrack "leaks" and copyrights, the latter of which cost the producers . The film witnessed a level of publicity campaigning previously unseen in India films, with marketing taking place over a period of nine months and involving major brand tie-ups, merchandise, theme-based video games and extensive viral marketing. The film also faced uncertainty regarding the preparedness of the film for release, with several rumours and media stories that the film would not be completed on time.
Prior to its worldwide release, Ra.One had multiple premiere
Premiere
A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...
s in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
during the period of October 24–26. The film released across 3,100 screens in India and 904 prints overseas in both 2D
Two-dimensional space
- Details :Bi-dimensional space is a geometric model of the planar projection of the physical universe in which we live.The two dimensions are commonly called length and width .Both directions lies in the same plane....
and 3D
Stereoscopy
Stereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...
, and was also dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
in Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
and Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, making it the largest Indian cinematic release in the world. Upon release, while the Indian critics gave mixed reviews, the overseas film critics received the film warmly. The film went on to break multiple box-office records, including highest Diwali day collections, highest single-day collections, highest three-day collections and biggest overseas collections of 2011. Within a week of its theatrical run, Box Office India declared the film a hit in India, and a week later, a super hit overseas, however was termed "average" by trade pundits. It is currently the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film worldwide according to Box Office India. The film has been widely praised for its visual effects and action, though criticism has been generated regarding its script and direction. Subsequently, the success of the effects and the 3D version of the film prompted multiple other Bollywood filmmakers to consider technology as a part of film-making, especially in view of the success of Ra.One and the inordinately higher returns generated from 3D ticket sales.
Plot
Jenny Nayar (GoswamiShahana Goswami
Shahana Goswami is an Indian actress who works in Bollywood films.-Career:Shahana had a single-minded focus on professional acting since childhood. She moved to Mumbai to complete her graduation and to explore the possibility of taking up acting as a career. In Mumbai, her first steps in acting...
), an employee of UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
based Barron Industries, introduces a new technology in which objects from the digital world can be brought into the real world, using the wireless transmissions from multiple wireless devices. Shekhar Subramanium (Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
), an employee of the same company, faces his last chance to come up with a video game with a difference. In order to impress his son Prateek (Verma
Armaan Verma
Armaan Verma is an Indian film child actor working in Hindi Bollywood films. He is best known for his portrayal of a game designer's son in the 2011 mega-budget film Ra.One, starring alongside Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal.- Career :...
), and upon the request of his wife Sonia (Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor , often informally referred to as Bebo, is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has received six Filmfare Awards, among nine nominations, and has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary...
), Shekhar takes his son’s idea that the antagonist should be more powerful than the protagonist.
Akashi (Wu
Tom Wu
Tom Wu is Chinese-American actor, born in Hong Kong and grew up in Chinatown, London. He is a martial arts expert who has starred in films like Revolver,Shanghai Knights, Batman Begins and the Bollywood sci-fi blockbuster Ra.One....
) provides the moves, Jenny does the programming and Shekhar gives his face to the protagonist G.One
G.One (character)
G.One , also known as Jeevan , is the super hero titular character of the 2011 Bollywood science fiction film, Ra.One, written and directed by Anubhav Sinha. The character is portrayed by Shahrukh Khan.-Background:...
, whilst the main antagonist Ra.One
Ra.One (character)
Ra.One is the supervillain titular character of the 2011 Bollywood science fiction film, Ra.One, written and directed by Anubhav Sinha. The character is portrayed by Arjun Rampal as the antagonist during and towards the end of the film, while also being portrayed by Tom Wu in the initial portions...
is faceless with powers substantially overstepping those granted to G.One. The game has three levels, and either of the players can only be killed in the third level with his H.A.R.T. on their chests with a special gun that has only one bullet. While designing the game, Akashi notices some malfunctions, but ignores them. When the game is finally launched, it receives a standing ovation and Prateek loves it so much that he insists on playing it instantly. He logs in under the alias 'Lucifer' and gets down to the second level easily, but is eventually interrupted by Akashi as it is time to go home. Ra.One, never been beaten before and being unable to end his turn with Lucifer, swears that Lucifer shall die.
After the mainframe doesn't shut down, Akashi calls Shekhar who notices something seriously wrong. Ra.One (Rampal
Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal , born 26 November 1972, is an award-winning Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films, as well as a fashion model.- Film career :...
) uses the initially introduced technology to come to life, kills Akashi, and goes after Shekhar to find out who is Lucifer. Shekhar rushes home but is also blocked by Ra.One on the way. In an attempt to save his son, Shekhar claims that he is Lucifer. However, Ra.One scans his I.D.
Identity document
An identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...
, and kills him for trying to hide Prateek. Upon noticing the strange case of his father’s death, Prateek realizes that Ra.One has come to life, and is after him. Along with Jenny, he tries to bring G.One to life. Sonia arrives and asks Prateek to leave with her for India. Ra.One, having taken the form of Akashi, chases them, but Sonia and Prateek are saved by G.One, who has entered the real world through Jenny's computer. G.One initiates a gas explosion which destroys Ra.One into constituent cubes, and takes his H.A.R.T. Finding it impossible to leave him, Sonia takes G.One to India with her through Shekhar’s passport. They go to their ancestral house and G.One promises her that he will save Prateek from any harm. Meanwhile, Ra.One returns to life and takes his humanized form of a model on a billboard and goes after G.One.
During Prateek's birthday party, Ra.One hypnotizes Sonia, assumes her form and kidnaps Prateek. He instructs G.One to give him his H.A.R.T. back and sends the real Sonia in an uncontrollable local train
Mumbai Suburban Railway
The Mumbai Suburban Railway system, part of the public transport system of Mumbai, is provided for by the state-run Indian Railways' two zonal Western Railways and Central Railways. The system carries more than 6.99 million commuters on a daily basis. It has the highest passenger densities of any...
in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. G.One saves Sonia just at the nick of the time, and then goes back to save Prateek. The game begins with Prateek controlling G.One's moves. Following a lengthy fight, both of the characters finally reach the third level. With little powers left, the pair trick Ra.One into shooting G.One without his H.A.R.T. attached to him. Furious, Ra.One creates ten alternatives. Prateek is unable to differentiate the real one, until he asks G.One to quote one of Shekhar’s saying stored in his folder: "बुराई संग जो मेल रचाया, फिर कभी न छूटे उसका साया" ("If you join the forces of evil, its shadows shall always follow you"). The pair then realizes that only one of the ten Ra.Ones has a shadow. G.One shoots him and transports himself back to the digital world after absorbing Ra.One's remains. Several months later, Prateek and Sonia return back to the UK, where the former finally manages to restore G.One back to the real world.
Cast
- Shahrukh KhanShahrukh KhanShahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
as Shekhar Subramaniam and G.OneG.One (character)G.One , also known as Jeevan , is the super hero titular character of the 2011 Bollywood science fiction film, Ra.One, written and directed by Anubhav Sinha. The character is portrayed by Shahrukh Khan.-Background:... - Kareena KapoorKareena KapoorKareena Kapoor , often informally referred to as Bebo, is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has received six Filmfare Awards, among nine nominations, and has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary...
as Sonia Subramaniam - Arjun RampalArjun RampalArjun Rampal , born 26 November 1972, is an award-winning Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films, as well as a fashion model.- Film career :...
as Ra.OneRa.One (character)Ra.One is the supervillain titular character of the 2011 Bollywood science fiction film, Ra.One, written and directed by Anubhav Sinha. The character is portrayed by Arjun Rampal as the antagonist during and towards the end of the film, while also being portrayed by Tom Wu in the initial portions... - Armaan VermaArmaan VermaArmaan Verma is an Indian film child actor working in Hindi Bollywood films. He is best known for his portrayal of a game designer's son in the 2011 mega-budget film Ra.One, starring alongside Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal.- Career :...
as Prateek Subramaniam (Lucifer) - Shahana GoswamiShahana GoswamiShahana Goswami is an Indian actress who works in Bollywood films.-Career:Shahana had a single-minded focus on professional acting since childhood. She moved to Mumbai to complete her graduation and to explore the possibility of taking up acting as a career. In Mumbai, her first steps in acting...
as Jenny Nayar - Tom WuTom WuTom Wu is Chinese-American actor, born in Hong Kong and grew up in Chinatown, London. He is a martial arts expert who has starred in films like Revolver,Shanghai Knights, Batman Begins and the Bollywood sci-fi blockbuster Ra.One....
as Akashi and Ra.One - Dalip TahilDalip TahilDalip Tahil is an Indian film, television and theatre actor. He did his schooling from the elite Sherwood College in Nainital, India and later graduated from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.-Films:...
as Barron - Suresh MenonSuresh Menon-Career:Menon has appeared in movies including Phir Hera Pheri, Partner, Fool N Final, Krazzy 4, Deewane Huye Pagal, Chalte Chalte, God Only Knows, Dil To Pagal Hai and Hello. Additionally, he has made an appearance on the television show Comedy Circus...
as Taxi Driver - Satish ShahSatish ShahSatish Ravilal Shah is a Hindi and Marathi film and television actor best known for his comedy films. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the ever popular 80's sitcom Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi directed by Kundan Shah and Manjul Sinha. He is famous for playing the role of Municipal Commissioner...
as Iyer - Rajinikanth as Chitti (Guest appearance)
- Sanjay DuttSanjay DuttSanjay Dutt is an Indian Hindi film actor and politician. Dutt, son of Hindi film actors Sunil and Nargis Dutt, made his acting debut in 1981.-Personal life:...
as Khalnayak (Guest appearance) - Priyanka ChopraPriyanka ChopraPriyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 2000. She is often referred to by the nickname "Piggy Chops", which was given to her by co-stars on the set of the film...
as The Desi Girl (Guest appearance) - Amitabh BachchanAmitabh BachchanAmitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
(Voice-over)
Origins and development
According to director Anubhav SinhaAnubhav Sinha
Anubhav Sinha is an Indian film director known for his work in Tum Bin and Shahrukh Khan starrer Ra.One.-Biography:...
, the idea of making Ra.One originated while he was watching a commercial on television six years ago. Sinha said, "The commercial dealt with two kids controlling a human with a remote. It was fascinating, and the visual stayed with me for some time." Sinha wrote a three-page short story based on the commercial, which he felt was good enough to be made into a film. Upon finalizing the story, he approached Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
with the film in August 2005, and Khan instantly agreed to produce and star in it. Red Chillies Entertainment
Red Chillies Entertainment
Red Chillies Entertainment is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company, based in Mumbai. The company was founded in 2002 by Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan...
's Keitan Yadav revealed that during the release of Main Hoon Na
Main Hoon Na
Main Hoon Na is a Bollywood masala film written and directed by Farah Khan. It was the first film of Khan production company Red Chillies Entertainment. It was released on 30 April 2004 and went on to become a box-office success...
(2004), Khan was keen on making a VFX-loaded film that was larger than life. His production company continued working on other projects and seeking for the right film until they finally decided on Ra.One. Prior to starting the film, Khan approached several directors to helm the project but they all refused due to various concerns.
Pre-production
Pre-production
Pre-production or In Production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, or other performance.- In film :...
work for the film began in November 2007 after the release of Khan's Om Shanti Om (2007). Sinha spent several months going through video clips, digital art portals and comic books; he later explained that this process helped him in creating a novel character. Khan stated that "When we started this film, the idea was can we make a simple film, about a husband, wife and child and then suddenly blow everyone's mind when they start fighting [...] So there were two films in one: the people who like the action...and those who like a family film." To prepare for the film's premises and characterization, Sinha and Khan watched as many as 200 superhero films in multiple languages from all over the world, including Spider-Man
Spider-Man (film)
Spider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film, the first in the Spider-Man film series based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp...
(2002), Batman
Batman (1989 film)
Batman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl and Jack Palance...
(1989) and Krrish
Krrish
Krrish is a 2006 Indian superhero science-fiction film The film was directed, produced, and written by Rakesh Roshan, while the screenplay was written by Robin Bhatt, Sachin Bhowmick, Honey Irani, Akarsh Khurana, and Sanjay Masoom. The film is a sequel to Koi.....
(2006).
Since the start of principal photography, Ra.One has faced multiple allegations of plagiarism and similarities with other film projects, including the 2010 Tamil
Tamil cinema
Tamil cinema is the film industry based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the production of films in the Tamil language. It is based in Chennai's Kodambakkam district, where several South Indian film production companies are headquartered...
science fiction film Enthiran. When asked about this, Khan noted: "I got inspired from a lot of superhero movies but the movie is original. In fact, Ra.One will be the first superhero-based movie in the world in which the superhero lives in a family." Commenting on Enthiran, he remarked, "they [both] are different films. I will not like to talk about anyone else's film but Rajni sir is respectable to all of us."
Casting and filming
Principal photography for the film began in March 2009, one-and-a-half years after pre-production work began. As a way to make his character more believable, Khan decided that he would perform his own stunts in the film. Sinha approached his friend Arjun RampalArjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal , born 26 November 1972, is an award-winning Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films, as well as a fashion model.- Film career :...
to take up the title role of a villain in the film, to which he readily agreed, and Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor , often informally referred to as Bebo, is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has received six Filmfare Awards, among nine nominations, and has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary...
was later signed on to play the female lead. Child actor Armaan Verma
Armaan Verma
Armaan Verma is an Indian film child actor working in Hindi Bollywood films. He is best known for his portrayal of a game designer's son in the 2011 mega-budget film Ra.One, starring alongside Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal.- Career :...
was required to go through several audition processes until he was finally selected to play the role of Prateek. During an appearance on the chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross was a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 November 2001. The programme featured Ross's take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...
, Khan stated that Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
was "approached for a role in the film". Khan had reportedly sent Chan the detailed script of the film, along with the action sequences and a brief synopsis of his character; it was later confirmed that Chan would not be part of the project. In July 2010, it was announced that Chinese-American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
actor Tom Wu
Tom Wu
Tom Wu is Chinese-American actor, born in Hong Kong and grew up in Chinatown, London. He is a martial arts expert who has starred in films like Revolver,Shanghai Knights, Batman Begins and the Bollywood sci-fi blockbuster Ra.One....
would be part of the film.
Actors Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Dutt is an Indian Hindi film actor and politician. Dutt, son of Hindi film actors Sunil and Nargis Dutt, made his acting debut in 1981.-Personal life:...
and Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 2000. She is often referred to by the nickname "Piggy Chops", which was given to her by co-stars on the set of the film...
were confirmed to make guest appearances whilst actor Rajinikanth was slated to perform in a special scene where he would be reprising his role of Chitti from Enthiran (2010), the background score for which [a single scene involving Khan and Rajinikanth] was scored by A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
. The actor shot for the film on 2 October 2011 at Subhash Ghai
Subhash Ghai
Subhash Ghai is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. His most notable films include Kalicharan ,Karz , Hero , Meri Jung , Karma ,Ram Lakhan ,Saudagar , Khalnayak , Pardes and Taal...
's Whistling Woods Studios in Mumbai with his daughter Soundarya
Soundarya Rajinikanth
Soundarya Rajinikanth Ashwin is a film graphic designer, producer and director in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India who has contributed in several Tamil films. Soundarya Rajinikanth is most popularly known for her work in Anbe Aaruyire...
despite some health problems. To minimize strain on the actor, the shoot was finished in a few hours and the scenes were digitally transferred into the necessary backgrounds later on. Several days later, it was announced that Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
would be doing a voice-over for an important scene in the film.
Ra.Ones shooting was originally supposed to begin in Miami, USA, but due to budget concerns this was scrapped. The first phase of filming began in India in March 2010 and continued until May in Mumbai's Film City
Film City
Film City is an integrated film studio complex situated near Sanjay Gandhi National Park at Goregaon, Mumbai in India. It has several recording rooms, gardens, lakes, theatres and grounds that serve as the venue of many Bollywood film shootings. It was built by the state government to provide...
and Goa. While filming, Khan admitted to finding difficulties with the rubber-made costume that was specially designed for his character, later commenting: "The costume was designed in a way that I had to take the help of girls to get into it and vice-versa. I wasn’t allowed to eat or drink much in between the shoots [...] By the time, the shooting of the film was wrapped up; I ended up losing ten kilos." Verma, who plays Khan's son in the film, had to learn the Brazilian martial arts dance Capoeira
Capoeira
Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences, probably beginning in the 16th century...
in preparation for his role. A chase scene along a Mumbai suburban train, in which Khan jumped from one compartment to another while Kapoor operated the train, received objections from the city government as they feared that the scene would entice teenagers to emulate the stunts. Subsequently, a disclaimer was added to the movie warning youngsters to refrain from performing any dangerous stunts shown in the film.
Production of the film's second and third phase occurred with the entire cast in London, which included a song sequence being shot in a restaurant from where the London Bridge
London Bridge
London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
was visible and a heavy duty action scene involving Khan and Kapoor. During this period, a picture of Kapoor's character was also revealed to the media. The film's final phase commenced at Filmistan Studio in December 2010 and was shot over seven days. The remaining portions were shot in Mumbai and completed in July 2011. While shooting for the film in Mumbai, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
visited Yash Raj Studios, to watch Khan at work. In order to celebrate the film's completion, a wrap-up party was held at the end of the month in Mumbai. A music video for the song "Raftaarein", choreographed by Feroz Khan
Feroz Khan
Feroz Khan was an Indian actor, film editor, producer and director in the Hindi film industry...
and picturised on Shahrukh Khan, was shot one week before release. Talking about the decision to make the last minute addition to the film, Sinha said: ""Raftaarein" was initially just a melody playing in a background sequence. But [the song] has got unanimously great reviews and has amazing energy. I thought why not shoot a music video and put it in the film."
Post-production
The film's crew consisted of more than 5,000 members from India, Italy and the US, and was pieced together by more than 1,000 people, working in shifts, in around 15 studios across the world. Nicola PecoriniNicola Pecorini
Nicola Pecorini is an Italian-born cinematographer.Pecorini was born in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. He founded, with Garrett Brown, inventor of the steadicam, the Steadicam Operators Association, Inc. , in 1988. Pecorini moved to the States in 1993...
was roped in as the director of photography
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
, with V. Manikandan
V. Manikandan
V. Manikandan is a leading cinematographer hailing from Tamil Nadu. He has worked as the cinematographer for a number of major box office hits in Hindi and Tamil. He is an acclaimed ad film cinematographer with more than 3,000 ad films to his credit. He won the Best Cinematographer award...
providing extra assistance, and Martin Walsh
Martin Walsh
Martin Walsh is a film editor with more than 30 film credits dating from 1985. Walsh won the Academy Award for Film Editing and the ACE Eddie Award for the film Chicago...
was responsible to edit the film. Sound designer Resul Pookutty
Resul Pookutty
Resul Pookutty is an Indian film sound designer, sound editor and mixer. He, along with Richard Pryke and Ian Tapp won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for the film Slumdog Millionaire...
was assigned the duty of enhancing the sound effects with the use of the Dolby Surround 7.1
Dolby Surround 7.1
Dolby Surround 7.1 is a system by Dolby Laboratories which delivers theatrical 7.1 surround sound to movie-goers. It adds two new channels to current Dolby Digital 5.1...
system. In an interview, he explained, "Ra.One is not just a movie experience [...] It requires a very unconventional sound and visual quality for which we are installing the required equipment." In October 2011, post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
work on Ra.One faced a minor setback when Pookutty's studio-space in Andheri, Mumbai got flooded, and eventually damaged some of the film's footage.
Due to the revived interest in 3D technology in India, the makers of the film announced that they were contemplating on turning portions of the movie into 3D. Khan revealed that parts of the film may be converted to 3D, provided tests and screen-shots of some scenes of the film were deemed satisfactory by the technical crew. However, there was a good deal of skepticism regarding such conversions, especially since 3D shooting required completely different types of cameras. In July 2011, it was announced that the entire film would be converted into 3D, a process that required the collaboration of around 1,000 individuals. Prime Focus
Prime Focus Group
Prime Focus Group is one of the largest film, advertising and television post-production and visual effects companies in the world. It is the result of a number of acquisitions and mergers by Prime Focus Ltd.-Prime Focus Group:...
, which had gained considerable experience from performing 3D conversions of major Hollywood productions The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a 2010 3D fantasy-adventure film based on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third novel in C. S. Lewis's epic fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia . It is the third installment in The Chronicles of Narnia film series from Walden Media...
(2010) and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), were tasked with the 3D conversion of Ra.One. A separate conversion facility was created solely for the purpose of the 3D conversion of the film.
Initially, the prints of Ra.One were expected to be ready a month prior to its release. However, the post-production work took up a considerably longer time to complete than was initially expected, triggering fears that the film may not be able to reach its Diwali deadline. Three studios worked around-the-clock to get the film ready before its scheduled release date. Pookutty stated in a report: "[The crew] working on the post-production of Ra.One are in a high-energy zone. We are racing against time [and over] the next two weeks there are going to be number of sleepless nights to make sure [the film] gets into theatres on time." Ten days before the film's release, Khan reportedly became upset over the post-production crew for severe delays in the process of digital inter-mediation in the film. Sinha however commented that "there are a lot of things happening in the post-production activities. We all are working hard towards it. But everything is fine." As the film approached its release, Khan personally verified the progress on a day-to-day basis, with complete reports regarding the status of completion. Increased workload was also attributed to "multiplied work" due to the various versions (3D, Tamil, Telugu, etc.) of the film. It was also confirmed that all studios working on the film's visual effects had been released, as "not much of the work on visual effects is left [...] There are very few details left that are being worked upon. Once that is done, we will go to print." On October 21, Sinha tweeted
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
that the film had been completed.
Visual effects
March 2010 saw the inclusion of several visual effectsVisual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
techniques being incorporated in the production of Ra.One. In an interview, Harry Hingorani (production director of Red Chillies VFX
Red Chillies VFX
Red Chillies VFX is an Indian special effects and visual effects studio, based in Mumbai, India.-Corporate:Red Chillies VFX is a division of the Red Chillies Entertainment an entertainment company founded by Shahrukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan...
) stated that "[the company] was set up in 2006 [...] Khan wanted to make something big involving VFX and that was the intension behind starting [it]." Extensive research was carried out by the crew, and no other films were accepted by the studio post My Name Is Khan
My Name is Khan
My Name Is Khan ; commonly referred to as MNIK, is a 2010 Bollywood film directed by Karan Johar, with a screenplay by Shibani Bathija, produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Gauri Khan, and starring Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, who reunite after nine years...
(2010), with special focus on setting up proper software and creating "the right team" during pre-production itself. To minimize the risk of future delays, the task of adding special effects was outsourced to multiple specialty studios around the globe, including in the United States, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
. In addition, Prime Focus also provided digital and visual effects services to Red Chillies VFX for the film.
Impressed by the work he had seen in the 1994 Hollywood release
1994 in film
1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
Stargate
Stargate (film)
Stargate is a 1994 American adventure-military science fiction film released through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco Pictures. Created by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, the film is the first release in the Stargate franchise...
, Jeff Kleiser was hired by Khan as the supervisor of visual effects in May 2010. A team of 750 technicians under Kleiser carried out the addition of special effects into the film. Special effects creator Robert Kurtzman
Robert Kurtzman
Robert Kurtzman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and special effects creator.- Career :Kurtzman began his career in 1984 when he moved from his hometown of Crestline, Ohio, to Hollywood, California, to pursue his interest in special effects. In 1988, along with Gregory...
was assigned to design the suits of Khan and Rampal's characters. The suits were made by a team of specialists based in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. While both the actors shot the film wearing a simple suit, a good deal of sparkle and polishing was later added to enhance its look.
The film is reported to have close to 3,500 VFX shots (occupying about 135 minutes of footage), with 800 of them being solely dedicated to G.One's suit alone, thus exceeding the total amount of shots that was used in the 2009 Hollywood film
2009 in film
The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note...
Avatar. Khan later singled out one process, explaining that it took nearly six days (137 hours) to create a single frame shot of glass flying on his character. Keitan Yadav notes: "There is no software or technique in the industry that we have not used for this film. For 3D, we have used software like Maya, Houdini
Houdini (software)
Houdini is a high-end 3D animation package developed by Side Effects Software which is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. It is a rewrite of the PRISMS ecosystem of standalone tools. Its chief distinction from other packages is that it has been designed as a purely procedural environment...
and Macs. For composites, we have used Nuke
Nuke (software)
Nuke is a node-based compositor produced by The Foundry, and used for film and television post-production. Nuke is cross-platform, and is available for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux...
and Shake
Shake (software)
Shake is a discontinued image compositing package used in the post-production industry. Shake was widely used in visual effects and digital compositing for film, HD and commercials. Shake exposes its node graph architecture graphically. It enables complex image processing sequences to be designed...
. We have even written our own programmes. We programmed certain things rather than doing them manually."
The film's visual effects have generated massive curiosity among moviegoers, film distributors and critics, and have been labelled as "the best India has ever seen [and] on par with Hollywood". Hingorani stated that "60% of the film is visual effects. There are 37 sequences in all, and they were considerably difficult and time-consuming." Jeff Kleiser commented that the most challenging part of Ra.One was creating the cubic transformations for the lead characters. It was later found out that the incorporation of visual effects was the main reason behind the increased time for post-production. The final batch of visual effects were delivered a week before the scheduled release. As a result, the crew had only two days to complete the film and send it for printing, further increasing anxiety regarding the film's release.
Soundtrack
The soundtrackRa.One (soundtrack)
Ra.One is the soundtrack album, composed by the duo Vishal-Shekhar, to a 2011 Indian science fiction film Ra.One, written and directed by Anubhav Sinha, and starring Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Armaan Verma and Arjun Rampal in the lead roles...
of Ra.One, released by T-Series on 12 September 2011, was composed by Vishal-Shekhar
Vishal-Shekhar
Vishal-Shekhar are a music directing duo for Hindi films and are among the leading music directors in the industry today...
with lyrics penned by Atahar Panchi, Vishal Dadlani and Kumaar. Director Anubhav Sinha announced that R&B singer Akon
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...
would be recording two songs for the film whilst the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra would also be making a contribution. The makers of the film have complied with international copyright laws and have obtained the license to use Ben E. King
Ben E. King
Benjamin Earl King , better known as Ben E. King, is an American soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me", a U.S...
's "Stand By Me
Stand by Me (song)
"Stand by Me" is the title of a song originally performed by Ben E. King and written by King, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller, based on the spiritual "Lord Stand by Me,", plus two lines rooted in Psalms 46:2-3...
", on which they have based the song "Dildaara". The album features fifteen tracks, including seven original songs, four remixes, three instrumentals and an international version of "Chammak Challo
Chammak Challo
Chammak Challo is a song composed by musical director duo Vishal-Shekhar as a part of the soundtrack for the 2011 Bollywood film Ra.One. The song, along with the rest of the soundtrack, was officially released on September 12, 2011. However, the song faced controversy when the rough version was...
". Subsequently, the Tamil and Telugu versions of the film's soundtrack were released on 10 October 2011 featuring six tracks each.
Pre-release revenue
In March 2011, it was announced that the television broadcasting rights for Ra.One had been sold to Star IndiaSTAR TV (Asia)
Satellite Television Asian Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.In 2009, News Corporation restructured STAR Asia into four units – STAR India, STAR Greater China, STAR Select and Fox International Channels....
for a then-record sum of , surpassing the previous record set by 3 Idiots (2009) of . The film's music rights were bought by T-Series for whilst the distribution rights were acquired by Eros Entertainment
Eros Labs
Eros International Media Ltd., also known as Eros Entertainment, is an Indian media and entertainment giant, involved in the production, acquisition and distribution of filmed entertainment across in movie theaters, on video and television, and in new media.Established in 1977, the company operates...
for . The distribution rights for the film in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
and Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
were bagged by Abirami Ramanathan
Abirami ramanathan
Abirami Ramanathan is an exhibitor and distributor of films in India.- External links :* http://www.abirami.in/aboutus.html* http://abirami.in...
for a reportedly record, but undisclosed price. Ra.One set a new record for total pre-release revenue earned, netting , and surpassed the previous record held by 3 Idiots, which had netted .
Promotions
The producers of Ra.One set a record marketing budget of around , of which was used for online promotion, making it the highest ever for a Bollywood film. Often described as the "longest promotion in Bollywood history", as well as "the most comprehensive and all-pervasive among people's lives", the term "promotional blitzkrieg" has often been used in connotation with the project's extensive marketing campaign.Promotion of the film officially began as early as December 2010 when the first poster was published in all leading news papers across the country. The film's first look was later unveiled by Khan on his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
page on January 1, 2011. Several months later, director Anubhav Sinha announced that he would be launching two teaser trailers of the film during the 2011 Cricket World Cup
2011 Cricket World Cup
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. It was Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a World Cup...
, a prior nine months before the film's actual release date. Asked about why he was launching the film's trailer so early, Sinha commented, "Ra.One is not a Bollywood film that [the audiences] have seen before. The kind of size and magnitude that the film has requires it to be slowly introduced to the audience and that is the very purpose why we are starting the whole communication so early." The film's first theatrical trailer was released three months later to the public. As a way to promote the theatrical trailer, Khan was accompanied by the director on a five city tour, which included such places like Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...
, Indore
Indore
Indore is one of the major city in India, the largest city and commercial center of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Indore is located 190 km west of the state capital Bhopal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Indore city has a population of 1,960,631...
and Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
. During the same event, a 3600 ft long fan mail collecting audience wishes and messages for the film was also launched.
On 3 June 2011, the official website of the film was hacked by suspected Pakistani cyber criminals who stated that the act was a form of revenge to a similar attack on a Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
press club website, three days after the launch of the page. They also left a note threatening the Indian Press Club, defacing the homepage. In early September, Red Chillies Entertainment (RCE) launched a sizeable viral marketing
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
campaign for promoting the film more effectively in the online arena. The company launched the official customized Ra.One channel of the film on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
(a first for an Indian film) where several song and theatrical promos were released to the public, along with videos of the film's making, events and uncut footage. The channel also hosts games, including the first social game from India, and contests where participants can create promos from clips, music and dialogues of the film.
In addition to YouTube, Khan announced that the film would also subsidize through major brand ties-up worth over , some of which included the Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
races, Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
, Godrej Consumer Products
Godrej Group
The Godrej Group is an Indian conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai, India. It was founded by Ardeshir Godrej and Pirojsha Godrej in 1897, Lalbaug, Mumbai...
, Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, HCL, Horlicks
Horlicks
Horlicks is the name of a company and of a malted milk hot drink. It is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline in the United Kingdom, South Africa, New Zealand, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Jamaica, and under licence in the Philippines and Malaysia....
, HomeShop18
HomeShop18
HomeShop18 is the online & on-air retail marketing and distribution venture of Network 18 Group that was launched as India’s first 24 hour Home Shopping TV channel on 9 April 2008. It is part of the Network 18 Group. The company operates homeshop18.com, an e-commerce platform in India. The...
and multiple live chats conducted on Google Plus
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
for which Khan became the first Indian film personality to utilize. Three weeks before the film's release, a mass media campaign was launched by Western Union
Western Union
The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...
for international promotions. Encompassing platforms such as the radio, television, print media and outdoor advertising, it was launched in the U.S., Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...
as a way to connect with the millions of non-resident Indians
Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin
A Non-Resident Indian is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country, a person of Indian origin who is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides permanently outside India. Other terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate Indian...
across the world. Co-producers and distributors of the film, Eros International, released an official statement stating that along with RCE, they have recovered a major portion of their investments through in-film branding, media endorsements, and other music and satellite rights.
The look of the film's titular character, Ra.One
Ra.One (character)
Ra.One is the supervillain titular character of the 2011 Bollywood science fiction film, Ra.One, written and directed by Anubhav Sinha. The character is portrayed by Arjun Rampal as the antagonist during and towards the end of the film, while also being portrayed by Tom Wu in the initial portions...
, portrayed by Rampal, was heavily guarded and kept under strict wraps, with the entire filming unit required to keep mobile phones away from shooting locations, and signing non-disclosure agreements. The first look of the character was initially scheduled to be revealed on the eve of Dussehra. According to the producers, the time was chosen to show the symbolism between Ra.One and the mythological villain Ravana
Ravana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
(of the Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
), both of whom are supposedly "equally bad". Due to certain technical glitches, it was later revealed in the film's final theatrical trailer to a positive response. Commenting on the response to his look in the film, Rampal noted: "The response has been phenomenal. People have liked my look. I am glad I have not disappointed anyone as there was so much anticipation for the film. I was petrified initially, wondering if my look would be appreciated and accepted. But it has been worth the wait."
Video games
In July, Red Chillies EntertainmentRed Chillies Entertainment
Red Chillies Entertainment is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company, based in Mumbai. The company was founded in 2002 by Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan...
declared a tie-up with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
(SCEE) to build a full cycle game of the film on PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
. Released on October 5 at an event in Mumbai, "Ra.One - The Game" offers more than 20 game environments, features original voice-overs from the actors and is available on PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
; the former being available for the Indian market and the latter for the international market. Khan volunteered to write the game script, dub for the game, and even oversaw the entire technical development. The project boasts of a series of firsts: a first full cycle PlayStation 3 blu-ray disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
game developed with an Indian developer; first console game to be dubbed by a leading Bollywood actor and also the first Bollywood title to appear in a full cycle video game.
SCEE has invested around to license the Ra.One IP and an additional in the marketing and promotions of the game, which includes offline promotions and television advertisements of nearly 250 ad spots. At the time of its launch, 21,000 game consoles were sold and 100,000 units are expected to be sold across India alone. On October 14, a gaming tournament titled "The Ra.One Nvidia
NVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
GeForce lan" was held in Mumbai. The event, which hosted over 1000 gamers competing against each other, featured several popular games such as FIFA, Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
and Call of Duty
Call of Duty
Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision in 2003. It is the first game in a series with the same name. The game simulates the infantry and combined arms warfare of World War II. The game is based on the Quake III: Team Arena engine...
, and was telecast live on YouTube, showcasing digital innovation by means of live interactive contests, puzzles etc.
In addition to launching the video game, Red Chillies also collaborated with UTV Indiagames
UTV Software Communications
UTV Software Communications Ltd., also known as United Television or UTV, is an Indian media and entertainment company owned by The Walt Disney Company India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.-History:...
to design a social game based on the film named the Ra.One Genesis. The game reached the No. 1 position on the iTunes store within 24 hours of its launch, becoming the first ever Bollywood movie app to be top-featured on iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
. It also became the most downloaded game in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and Malaysia within 24 hours of being launched. An investment of around , the storyline of the game is not borrowed from or similar to that of the movie though it is based on the character of G.One
G.One (character)
G.One , also known as Jeevan , is the super hero titular character of the 2011 Bollywood science fiction film, Ra.One, written and directed by Anubhav Sinha. The character is portrayed by Shahrukh Khan.-Background:...
. The game was launched across platforms like mobiles, tablet PCs
Tablet computer
A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
, the direct-to-home platform and social networking sites like Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
. According to the company's digital and new media head Shailja Gupta, the idea behind the digital marketing is to create a franchisee for Ra.One. She explained, "Social gaming
Social network game
A social network game is a type of online game that is played through social networks, and typically features multiplayer and asynchronous gameplay mechanics. Social network games are most often implemented as browser games, but can also be implemented on other platforms such as mobile devices...
is just one part of the digit marketing strategy. The unique part of the social game is the integration of merchandise and gaming."
Merchandise and comics
As a way to promote the film and increase its franchising business, Shahrukh Khan tied up with SeventymmSeventymm
' is an Indian online shopping company offering exclusive range ofmovie merchandise,apparel,electronic gadgets, fashion accessories,footwear,home accessories, jewellery,watches,home decor, kitchen appliances ,kids stuff , movie DVDs and other life style products.The company was initially into...
to market a variety of merchandises related to the film. Products included original G.One
G.One (character)
G.One , also known as Jeevan , is the super hero titular character of the 2011 Bollywood science fiction film, Ra.One, written and directed by Anubhav Sinha. The character is portrayed by Shahrukh Khan.-Background:...
tee shirts, coffee mugs, wrist bands, watches, mobile pouches, video cameras, as well as many other things. Similar products were also available for purchase on the official G.One online store, which was launched alongside the film's official website. 90% of the 400,000 stationery items and toys were sold in 15 days and an additional 100,000 were ordered. The makers spent on the mold for the G.One action figure. In addition to this, a jewellery line inspired by the symbol of "Ra.One", as well as a series of HCL laptops with customized integrated Ra.One skin were also made available to the public. Moreover, Red Chillies Entertainment collaborated with UTV Indiagames
UTV Software Communications
UTV Software Communications Ltd., also known as United Television or UTV, is an Indian media and entertainment company owned by The Walt Disney Company India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.-History:...
to develop digital comics based on the film's characters. Written by Khan, the comic featured weekly episodes and served as a prequel to the events happening in the movie.
Release
During the period of October 24–26, Ra.One had its international premieres in three cities: DubaiDubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, all of which were chosen keeping in mind their large international significance, as well as the presence of large South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
n populations.
The film's first international premiere was held in Dubai on 24 October 2011 at the Grand Cinemas, Wafi
Wafi City
Wafi City is a mixed-use development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The complex includes a mall, hotel, restaurants, residences, and a nightclub. The "city" is styled after Ancient Egypt. This themed environment includes columns reminiscent of Karnak, small pyramids, and images of pharaohs...
, along with co-stars Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor , often informally referred to as Bebo, is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has received six Filmfare Awards, among nine nominations, and has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary...
and Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal , born 26 November 1972, is an award-winning Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films, as well as a fashion model.- Film career :...
, followed by a high-profile dinner and charity auction, where Khan had raised K.D
Kuwaiti dinar
The dinar is the currency of Kuwait. It is sub-divided into 1000 fils. It is the highest-valued currency unit in the world.-History:...
30,000 for building a workshop for children with special needs. The premiere is notably first Indian film to sell tickets for its shows, as well as to have three simultaneous screenings for the event. The London premiere of the film took place at the O2 Cineworld
The O2 arena (London)
The O2 Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is second largest...
the following day, while the Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
premiere took place at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on 26 October. Due to a conflict with Kapoor's scheduled appearance at Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud and was formerly known as "Madame Tussaud's", but the apostrophe is no longer used...
, it was later announced that the actress would not be attending the film's premiere in Toronto.
Following up to its release, Ra.One surpassed several records among Indian films for the volume of theatrical release in India and worldwide. Nationally, the film released in 3,100 screens, breaking the record of Bodyguard (2011), which released in 2,700 screens. Overseas, it is currently expected to release in around 1,500 screens in 904 prints, with 600 screens in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, 250 screens in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, 25 prints in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, 75 prints in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, 79 prints in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, 344 prints in USA, 51 prints in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 202 prints in the UK and 49 prints in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. A reported partnership deal is being finalised by the distributors, which will allow the film to release in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
with 1,000 prints. Moreover, Ra.One 3D version released in 550 selected screens around the world. The Tamil and Telugu versions released with 275 and 125 prints respectively. The film's release has also been noted for its wide use of digital prints, as an effort to bring down distribution costs, release the film to a wider audience and also reduce piracy. A week prior to its release, multiplex owners across India decided to allot the project with 95% of the total available screen space. The film also faced some uncertainty concerning the release of 3D version on time. However, Khan clarified that 3D version will be released on the set date, in the microblogging
Microblogging
Microblogging is a broadcast medium in the form of blogging. A microblog differs from a traditional blog in that its content is typically smaller in both actual and aggregate file size...
site Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
.
Censorship ratings
On 14 October, Ra.One was submitted to the Central Board of Film CertificationCentral Board of Film Certification
The Central Board of Film Certification is a Government of India regulatory body and censorship board of India controlled by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It reviews, rates and censors motion pictures, television shows, television ads, and promotional material...
to receive an official rating. Upon submitting the script, the Board showed strong objections to the film's action scenes as they felt that it would influence young children into emulating them. After much deliberation, the film was passed with a 'U' certificate without any cuts, but only under the condition that it would display prominent disclaimers stating that the stunts should not be imitated and were computer-generated.
Controversy
Days before its release, Ra.One attracted media attention when script-writer Yash Patnaik claimed that the film resembled a concept that he had developed several years back. Patnaik subsequently moved his appeal to the Bombay High CourtBombay High Court
Bombay High Court at Mumbai, Maharashtra, is the High Court of India with jurisdiction over the states of Maharashtra & Goa, and, the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli...
, pleading for a stay in the film's release until he was given due credit or 10% of the film's overall profit. The court, observing the prima facie evidence that there had been copyright violations, asked the filmmakers to deposit on 21 October with the court before releasing the film. However, challenging the court decision, Patnaik lately had demanded the producers to give him credit and not cash. Sinha, on the other hand, claimed that he had developed the film's story.
Critical reception
Upon release, Ra.One received mixed reviews from critics in India. Film reviewers were clearly separated into two factions, with one feeling that the film had brought the level of Indian filmsCinema of India
The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...
at par with Hollywood films, while the other complained about the flawed script. According to review aggregator Review Gang, professional critics have given the film an average rating of 50%.
Taran Adarsh
Taran Adarsh
Taran Adarsh is an Indian film critic, journalist, editor and film trade analyst. He is also a former producer and screenwriter. He is the son of film director and producer, B.K. Adarsh....
of Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama is a leading Bollywood entertainment website, owned by hungama.com....
gave the film a score of 4.5 out of 5 and said, "Ra.One is the most ambitious, most expensive and the most technologically complex Hindi film ever made. It pushes the envelope further ... It is a film that will rewrite the textbook of computer graphics in Hindi cinema. At the same time, it is very Indian at heart." Khalid Mohamed from Deccan Chronicle gave it 4 out of 5 stars, concluding, "Here’s a technical accomplishment with as much heart as hardware". Manjari Saxena of Gulf News
Gulf News
Gulf News is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates with a December 2009 BPA audited circulation of over 117,036 qualified copies...
also gave the film a positive review, awarding it 4 stars out of 5 and writing that it is "a fun movie to catch and will definitely run full house during the Diwali weekend." Nikhat Kazmi
Nikhat Kazmi
Nikhat Kazmi is a senior correspondent and well-known film critic from India, who has been writing for The Times of India, since 1987.-Books:* If Shakespeare was a gun: a play. Writers Workshop, 1984....
from The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
rated the film 3.5 stars out of 5, mentioning that the film is "Ra.One is sure to usher in a crackling Diwali at the box office and give the audience paisa vasool entertainment, with fine performances by both Shah Rukh and Kareena. Even young Armaan is efficient. Go have a blast." Rachit Gupta of Filmfare
Filmfare
Filmfare is an English-language tabloid-sized magazine about Indian cinema. Published by The Times Group, India's largest media services conglomerate, in Mumbai , it highlights the doings of the Bollywood film scene...
gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, saying "Ra.One is an enjoyable sci-fi and CGI fiesta that will transport you to a world of kooky fantasy and video game heroes." Subhash K Jha gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, commenting "Ra.One is a saucy, sassy, scintillating super-hero film which knows exactly when to let the narrative flow in a furious frenzy of hyper-activity, and when to brake the goings-on just before the hysterical happenings topple into the realm of irretrievable absurdity." K.K. Rai of Stardust
Stardust (magazine)
Stardust is an Indian monthly Bollywood news and gossip magazine published in English and Hindi. It also sponsors the Stardust Awards.-History:...
gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars as well, commenting that, "Ra.One is a visual treat with top notch computer graphics and other use of high-tech gadgetry. It is certainly better than anything Bollywood has offered so far, and is more in consonance with standards of Hollywood. Anubhav’s execution of the screenplay is perfect, and pacing most suitable to the genre of the flick." Komal Nahta
Komal Nahta
Komal Nahta is the editor and publisher of "Film Information", India's largest film trade journal. He is also an anchor of the Trade show ETC Bollywood Business on the Bollywood TV channels ETC and Zee Cinema. Well known for his harsh criticism of Movies....
of Koimoi.com also gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, praising the performances by the lead actors but adding that the story (based on gaming and technology) would be difficult for the older generation to comprehend. The Indo-Asian News Network
Indo-Asian News Service
Indo-Asian News Service or IANS is India's largest private news agency. The IANS is run by a group of professional journalists.The IANS was founded by Indian American publisher Gopal Raju as the India Abroad News Service. It was later renamed the Indo-Asian News Service...
also gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars stating that "Ra.One is still probably one of the classiest movies seen in the Hindi film industry and a feather in Anubhav's hat." Kaveri Bamzai of India Today
India Today
India Today is an Indian weekly news magazine published by Living Media India Limited, in publication since 1975 based in Mumbai. India Today is also the name of its sister-publication in Hindi...
gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5, noting, "Welcome to a movie as a gigantic open house. This is film-making not so much as noble passion but as grand indulgence, not so much as a marathon magic show but as an event to be managed." Soumyadipta Banerjee of DNA India gave the film 3.5 stars, saying "The real story is the way the film is carried forward and the special effects. It’s worth a worth. It might be not be a good idea to watch it for the second time around though." Aniruddha Guha of DNA India gave it 3 stars and said "Ra.One is beautiful in appearance, but empty within. Which is a pity. Anubhav could have really made a mark with this one." Sanchari Bhattacharya from Rediffcalled the film "escapist entertainment" giving it 3 out of 5 stars.
Daily Bhaskar
Dainik Bhaskar
Dainik Bhaskar is an Indian Hindi-language daily newspaper published by D B Corp Ltd.. It was started in year 1958 from Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh...
gave it 3 out of 5 stars, pointing out that "Ra.One is surely crafted as a kids’ entertainer, The movie is a joyful cinematic experience for game enthusiasts." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV
NDTV
NDTV is an Indian commercial broadcasting television network founded in 1988. It was founded by Prannoy Roy, an eminent journalist and current chairman and director of NDTV Group. NDTV currently has more than 1,000 employees producing news from over twenty locations in India...
awarded the film 3 out of 5 stars, saying "Ra.One packs in just about everything under the sun and the moon so that the paying public goes home feeling they haven’t been shortchanged. It trundles along all right but never quite hits the high roads." Gaurav Malani from The Economic Times
The Economic Times
The Economic Times is an English-language Indian daily newspaper published by the Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.. The Economic Times was started in 1961. It is the most popular and widely read financial daily in India, read by more than 8 lakh people...
gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, remarking "Though the sci-fi concept seems too far-fetched, the director is able to pull it off with visual dazzlery and fast-paced storytelling that the genre demands. The action sequences are thrillingly and credibly choreographed." Oneindia.in
Oneindia.in
Oneindia.in is an Indian online portal owned by Greynium Information Technologies Pvt. Ltd., which provides news updates, sports news, travel, entertainment, videos, and classifieds. Alexa Traffic Rank of Oneindia.in is ranked number 525 in the world and Google page rank of Oneindia.in is 7...
gave the film a positive review as well, saying "The movie surely goes beyond everyone's imagination. Besides raising the bar for Hindi films, the flick also appeals to the universal audience [...] Shahrukh Khan's stellar performance is the major attraction of the film".
Some critics gave the film an average (mixed) review. Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and entertainment reporter for CNN-IBN. Masand started his career as an entertainment correspondent at the young age of 16...
of CNN-IBN gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, praising Khan's performance but arguing that, "while this superhero film has plenty sound and fury, it's sorely lacking slickness." Sonia Chopra from Sify
Sify
Sify Technologies Limited is an Internet service provider established in 1998, based in Chennai, India.-Company profile:...
gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, stating "Ra.One is a visual extravaganza and fun enough. The only reason one stops short of recommending Ra.One is the sporadic adult content that has no business being in a film for kids. Too bad, really." Sukanya Verma of Rediff argued that "The 3D version of Ra.One has nothing extra to offer" giving it 2.5 out of 5 stars. Shubha Shetty-Shah of Mid-Day gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, saying "Ra.One manages to stumble and falter, in spite of all the crutches that it has been provided with. [It's] a revolting khichdi of sorts. The extra half star is for the visual effects and for that intention to make it king size."
The film did receive some negative reviews as well. Mayank Shekhar
Mayank Shekhar
Mayank Shekhar is an Indian film critic, journalist and author. He has been a film critic and a national cultural editor with Hindustan Times . He previously worked under Mumbai Mirror and MiD DAY. He also writes a blog, Fad For Thought at Hindustan Times website.-Early life and education:He...
from Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....
gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, wrote, "Neither here nor there, everything appears so visibly constructed and all over the place that you can look through the wires, rather than blend in with the experience." Aseem Chhabra of Rediff.com
Rediff.com
Rediff.com India is a news, information, entertainment, and shopping portal. It was founded in 1996 as "Rediff On The NeT" and is headquartered in Mumbai, India with offices in New Delhi and New York City, USA....
criticised the film for its "muddled script" and gave it 2 out of 5 stars, stating "There are video games that kids play, but then they shut them off, after they win or lose. Finally, Ra.One has a similar forgettable quality." Rediff reviewers Raja Sen and Abhishek Mande gave the film 1.5 and 2 stars out of 5 respectively, while Arthur J. Pais and Saisuresh Sivaswamy rated it 1.5 and 2 out of 5 stars, with the latter arguing that "the film offers no emotional connect with the audience even as its story flops in the telling." Kunal Guha of Yahoo! Movies
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
panned the film, saying that "Ra.One does what no other sci-fi movie has done before: it mocks itself. It's convenient to say that if you have no expectations from the film, you wouldn't be disappointed." Zee News
Zee News
Zee News, the news and current affairs channel, is the oldest channel of Zee News Ltd, founded in 1992. It was the first 24-hour Hindi current affairs and news channel in India. In spite of being the only pay channel in its genre, it maintains its position among the top three Hindi news channels in...
said that "The film has its moments but they are far and few in between. Some of the scenes are surely entertaining but when one goes to watch a SRK film, one hopes to be entertained throughout, and sadly Ra.One fails to do so." Sanjukta Sharma of Mint
Mint (newspaper)
Mint is a business newspaper from HT Media Ltd, launched in collaboration with The Wall Street Journal on 1 February 2007. It is a premium business news publication aimed at decision makers and policy makers of the country and it is the first newspaper in India to be published in the Berliner...
argued that the film is a "haphazard medley of Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
, The Matrix
The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
, Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
, Terminator 2 and age-old disappearing and levitating acts we’ve seen over and over again in no-brainer Rajnikanth blockbusters ... Anubhav Sinha’s Ra.One is a spectacular disappointment." The Mumbai Mirror
Mumbai Mirror
Mumbai Mirror is a largest compact newspaper in the city of Mumbai with a daily circulation of over 600,000 copies. Its first issue was published on May 30, 2005 by the Times Group, the publishers of The Times of India newspaper....
rated the film 2 out of a 5 stars, appraising the action sequences but criticizing the writing. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express
The Indian Express
The Indian Express is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. It is published in Mumbai by Indian Express Group. After Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split in 1999 among his family members into two with the southern editions taking the name The New Indian Express, while the old...
gave the film 2 stars and said that "Ra.One is a superstarry slurry sludge, with just the occasional consolatory sparkle."
Overseas reception
Overseas, the film received generally positive reviews. Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
rates the film at 75% "Fresh" (83% for top critics), and Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, gave the film a 60% rating.
Kirk Honeycutt from The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
gave the film a favorable review, adding: "India’s first attempt at a superhero movie is both vigorous and emotionally fulfilling within the context of Bollywood traditions."
Rubina A. Khan from The First Post
The First Post
The First Post is a British daily online news magazine based in London. It was launched in August 2005. It publishes news, current affairs, lifestyle, opinion, arts and sports pages, and it features an online games arcade and a cinema featuring short films, virals, trailers and eyewitness news...
praised the film as a whole, stating that "Anubhav Sinha, the director of the film, has done a marvelous job in the action sequences [...] The emotional scenes, too are very engaging — despite all the digital wizardry going on in the film." J. Hurtado of Twitch
Twitch Film
Twitch Film, also known simply as Twitch, is an English language Canadian website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown, a cinephile with personal interests in arthouse and grindhouse cinema...
gave the film a positive review, saying "Ra.One is a stunning action film, with stunts that would hold up with the best of any Hollywood action film. [...] All of the emotion that the film delivers serves the story both in terms of plot development and theme, and it is very seldom gratuitous. [It is] a supremely entertaining action adventure that should be able to cross language lines and find fans in any community." Rachel Saltz of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
gave the film a positive review, highlighting "Ra.One is a kind of entertainment machine set to dazzle, Hindi cinema with a crush on high-tech." Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
said, "Ra.One is Bollywood at its best. It has energy, spectacle and humor, song and dance, but razzle-dazzle special effects and action stunts never overwhelm its story of enduring love that unfolds amid an intricate and inspired sci-fi odyssey". Joe Neumaier from New York Daily News gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, saying "Ra.One has a witty sense of punky, gaming-style esthetics that American blockbusters try for but can't quite achieve." Andrew O'Hehir from Salon
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
wrote, "From dazzling dance numbers to post-Matrix action, RA. One showcases Bollywood's confidence." John Anderson of Variety
Variety Film Reviews
Variety Film Reviews is the 24-volume hardcover reprint of feature film reviews by the weekly entertainment tabloid-size magazine Variety from 1907 to 1996...
gave the film an average review, stating "Along with Khan's presence, it's the effects that sell Ra.One, and they arrive more or less nonstop. Rather than incorporate the technology into the story, Sinha's CG acrobatics become the equivalent of a wide receiver doing backflips in the endzone - amusing, but beside the point." International Business Times
International Business Times
The International Business Times is an online global business newspaper, published in 17 editions in 10 languages across 13 countries. The publication, sometimes called IBTimes, offers news, analysis and editorial commentary on business and business related stories...
particularly praised the performance of Shahrukh Khan and stated that the chemistry between him and his son, played by Armaan Verma, dazzles throughout the film: "He [Khan] is wonderful as always. He fits into the role superbly .... His chemistry with his son Prateek in the film is wonderful ... Ra.One is an excellent superhero film; a complete entertainer."
Tamara Baluja of The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
gave the film one out of four stars. Although she called the special effects "fantastic", she panned the movie as a whole. Simon Abrams of Slant
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
also gave it one out of four stars and wrote: "Ra.Ones indifferently demeaning scenario proves just how meaningless its creators' supposedly good intentions really are." Bloomberg too rated the film with one out of four stars, saying "While no one was expecting The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight (film)
The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
from this film’s makers, they could potentially have matched the entertaining and goofy Hellboy
Hellboy (film)
Hellboy is a 2004 supernatural superhero film, starring Ron Perlman, John Hurt and Selma Blair, directed by Guillermo del Toro. The film is based on the Dark Horse Comics work Hellboy: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola. It was produced by Revolution Studios, and distributed by Columbia Pictures...
. Sadly, Khan and director Anubhav Sinha fail to understand the idiom of superhero cinema." Avash Karmacharya of MyRepublica
MyRepublica
Republica is a national daily newspaper published by New Republic Media Pvt. Ltd. in Kathmandu. The newspaper began its online edition on January 1, 2009 and print edition on April 24, 2009. Ameet Dhakal is the editor-in-chief of the newspaper....
too panned the film's plot and added, "the biggest problem of the movie, however, is the lack of a solid storyline." Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
gave the film a negative review for being "less of a movie and more of a product that is tailor-made to audiences looking for a Diwali movie."
Box office
Ra.One grossed worldwide from its Hindi version. Box Office India declared the film a "hit" in India, and a "super hit" in the overseas market.India
Ra.One saw an opening of 70-100% occupancy levels all over India, with full houses in many multiplexes. The lower-than-expected occupancy level was mainly due to the effect of DiwaliDiwali
Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
festivities, which took a toll on the evening shows. The morning opening was described "historic" by several trade analysts. Generally, the 3D version of the film saw better occupancy levels than the 2D version. Families and children comprised the major demographics of Ra.Ones audience.
On the first day, Ra.One collected from the Hindi version and an estimated from the Tamil and Telugu versions, taking its all-India total to . It set records for the biggest Diwali opening day ever by beating Golmaal 3
Golmaal 3
Golmaal 3 is a 2010 Bollywood comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty. A sequel to the 2008 film Golmaal Returns, the project stars most of the actors from the previous film, including Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor and Shreyas Talpade. New additions to the cast include...
(8.72 crore), The lesser total was attributed to a fall in evening collections, caused due to festive celebrations and pujas. However, on the second day, Ra.One set records throughout the nation by collecting in the Hindi version and hence surpassing the biggest single-day record in India held by Bodyguard. The third day collection of the film Hindi version netted at , and has again set a record three day collection of nett, by surpassing previous record by Bodyguard (52.6 crores). The Tamil and Telugu versions of the film also collected around nett over three days, giving it a total of nett for all three languages. The film's Hindi version collected nett on its fourth day, with four days collection totaling around nett. As of five days extended first weekend, the film had collected about from all its versions. At the end of seven days, the Hindi Ra.One netted in India with best collections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu/Kerala and Mysore. Ra.One (Hindi) was ranked second in the top ten first seven day domestic collection, next to Bodyguard. As of nine days extended first week, the film's Hindi version collection netted , while Tamil and Telugu versions collection totaled at .
Ra.One (Hindi) netted in its second week, declining 80% from its previous three-day opening weekend. The film's net total grew to in 12 days. The film saw a good second Monday owing to "Eid" by collecting nett taking the four day second weekend to around . In the second week, Ra.One netted from the Hindi version, taking its two-week total to nett, an 84% drop compared to the extended first week collections. In its third week, Ra.One lost most of its screening space due to the release of Rockstar
Rockstar (2011 film)
Rockstar is a 2011 Hindi musical film directed by Imtiaz Ali, starring Ranbir Kapoor and debutant Nargis Fakhri, with music composed by A. R. Rahman. Eros International Ltd. co-produces the film with Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd...
, and hence declined by 90% to . The total net collections, by the end of the fourth week, from Hindi version of the film alone, were .
Overseas
The overseas release of the film took place in two phases, with most major markets covered in the first phase. In its first phase, Ra.One debuted to approximately $6.75 million overseas. The five-day opening (three day in certain territories) is the fourth biggest ever for a Bollywood film. In its opening weekend, the film collected US$1,654,023 in USAUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, £
Eurodollar
Eurodollars are time deposits denominated in U.S. dollars at banks outside the United States, and thus are not under the jurisdiction of the Federal Reserve. Consequently, such deposits are subject to much less regulation than similar deposits within the U.S., allowing for higher margins. The term...
908,768 in UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, $250,000"$" implies United States dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, $349,899 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, $1,509,624 in UAE, $91,135 in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and $40,658 in Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, in addition to very strong openings in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and other East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
n countries. As of its second week, Ra.One had crossed the $8 million mark with business of around $8.25 million, and thus became the highest-grossing Bollywood film overseas in 2011. In 3 weeks, Ra.One collected $8.6 million making it the fifth highest grossing film ever in the overseas market. As of November 24, 2011, Eros International stated that the film made more than $10 million in the overseas market.
Commercial analysis
Ra.One had generated curiosity among the public and distributors ever since the announcement of Akon's participation as a part of the film's soundtrack. The film also received a lot of media attention due to the early launch of the film's publicity campaign which was unprecedented in addition to being untested. However, since the release of the first trailer of the film, many analysts predicted that Ra.One would not succeed at the box office. Reasons cited included its unique use of technology and action, a supposedly different type of script and the urban feel suggesting that Ra.One would be a "class" phenomenon, and would not percolate down to the "masses". The high budget of the film was another area of concern for the film, as this meant high prices for distributor rights and lesser chances of profits. As time went by, the film was hit by multiple accusations of plagiarism involving posters, script, stunts and visuals, further putting down the film. A major problem for the film was that the superhero genre was untested by Khan, and the genre itself was not popular in India. Khan's earlier success was predominantly based on romantic roles with notable exceptions such as SwadesSwades
Swades: We, the People is a 2004 Indian film written, produced and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film stars Shahrukh Khan and debutante Gayatri Joshi...
(2004) and Chak De! India (2007).
Some trade analysts were, however, quite positive about the film. As noted by Ormax Media, a specialist consumer research company for films, Ra.One set records for Buzz and Reach among films even six weeks before release. Such high figures maintained right till the release date. Moreover, Ra.Ones unique and vast marketing campaign, which utilized concepts previously unheard of in Indian films, was cited as a smart business move that would make the film reach as big an audience as possible. It was also widely noted that in spite of the high cost of the movie and the seemingly risky venture, Khan managed to recover most of the film's production costs well before the release time through various film rights and sponsor tie-ups. As time progressed, the layered marketing campaign coupled with extensive brand tie-ups and new concepts built up to a very high expectation level among the audiences. The public were comparing it to previous Indian superhero and science-fiction films such as Mr. India (1987), Krrish
Krrish
Krrish is a 2006 Indian superhero science-fiction film The film was directed, produced, and written by Rakesh Roshan, while the screenplay was written by Robin Bhatt, Sachin Bhowmick, Honey Irani, Akarsh Khurana, and Sanjay Masoom. The film is a sequel to Koi.....
(2006), Drona
Drona (film)
Drona is a 2008 Bollywood superhero film directed by Goldie Behl, starring Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Kay Kay Menon and Jaya Bachchan. Drona has been described as Harry Potter meets Prince of Persia, but with an original story. Drona's special effects shots were worked on by EyeQube headed...
(2008) and Enthiran (2010), Drona being a major box office failure
Box office bomb
The phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...
, as well as American superhero films like Batman Begins
Batman Begins
Batman Begins is a 2005 American superhero action film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman, along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkinson,...
(2005) and more frequently Tron: Legacy (2010).
With time, the promotional overdrive surrounding the film began to evoke strong reactions from viewers and box office trackers. Much debate ensued regarding the fate of the film due to over-promotion, with speculations that the "carpet bombing" strategy would backfire on the film in the end. The omnipresence of Ra.One had the unintended effect of widely popularizing a series of internet and SMS jokes based on the film, several of them targeting the film's publicity drive and, post-release, the film itself. Khan, however, was unfazed by the huge popularity of these jokes, saying "Some people have devoted their lives to writing about how Ra.One is not a good film. But I am glad, since people are discussing it, it pretty much shows how the film hasn’t been ignored." The promotional overdrive also showed that Khan had "bet it all" with the film. Outlook India commented that "Stardom, brand value, ambition, reputation: Shahrukh’s bet it all on Ra.One. No wonder he has never hardsold a film like this one." The nature of Khan's role in the film, that of a superhero, was unfamiliar to Khan's usual fans who generally recognize him as a romantic actor with "arched brows, deep dimples, perennially outstretched arms and a sarcastic half-smile". Filmmaker Paromita Vohra, a fan of Khan, commented "Will the superhero have traces of the SRK I love or not?", a feeling echoed by many others. Author Supriya Mandangarli noted that "the SRK persona has not been so much about aggressive masculinity as about nostalgia, the reason why Ra.One seems a big risk." It has been widely known that Ra.One was Khan's biggest gamble.
However, the reasons behind marketing the film in such a manner was attributed to a personal ambition to regain the numero uno status in the film industry. Columnist Anil Thakraney said "It’s not so much about money as about prestige, about getting the rightful plank back. SRK is no more the lone King Khan he has been for almost two decades. [He] has continued to retain the No. 1 slot in the overseas market but his domestic ranking has tumbled." However, trade experts were confident of the film's success. Lyricist Prasoon Joshi
Prasoon Joshi
Prasoon Joshi is an Indian lyricist, screenwriter and advertising copywriter. A prolific Writer-Poet whose first book of 3 books "Main aur Woh" was published when he was 17 years of age, an internationally acclaimed Indian advertising professional, Bollywood film songwriter, as well as a...
stated that "He [Khan] understands the 360 degrees of the game. He is available to the consumer at any touch point." However, it was noted that to get back all that was at stake, it would have to run for a long period of time in theaters, and not be like the short-lived Bodyguard or Singham
Singham (2011 film)
Singham is a 2011 Bollywood action film directed by Rohit Shetty starring Ajay Devgn, Kajal Aggarwal and Prakash Raj in lead roles. It is a remake of the 2010 Tamil film Singam featuring Suriya and 2011 bengali flim Shotru featuring bengali superstar Jeet. The film is produced by Reliance...
. Image guru Dilip Cherian said "SRK is building the film as a franchise much as Hollywood studios do. It’s like bludgeoning the market into submission."
Post release, Ra.One generated a mixed response from the audiences as well as critics. Opinions of the film varied widely, which is visible given that the user ratings from the film ranged from 1.5 to 4.5 stars out of 5. While audiences unanimously praised the visual effects and technical aspects of the film, many were left feeling the need of a better and more original script. Vats commented that "Ra.One banked upon mammoth promotional drive in order to pull the audiences to the theatres and therefore mixed reviews actually have brought down the fever a bit. The focus on technical fineness has made Ra.One an experience worth watching but the hype around the film has begun to fizz away." While children and teenagers unanimously loved the movie, adults were critical of it. A major short-coming of the film was that it failed to connect with Khan's own built-in fan base. Noted film producer Pritish Nandy
Pritish Nandy
Pritish Nandy is a Indian poet, painter, journalist, politician, media and television personality, animal activist and film producer. He is Bengali by ethnicity. He was member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament representing Maharashtra based party Shiv Sena...
echoed these sentiments by saying "I'm no fan of SRK but I must say, even if it disappoints you all, I enjoyed Ra.One. [...]The problem with [it] is that it does not connect with SRK's own fan base. They were cursing the film and walking out."
It has been generally accepted that the film failed to meet the very high expectations, and hence negativity about the film spread. A member of the film's production unit commented, "The attention was now diverted to speculating the figures, hinting at the figures not being true. It has now come to point of being nasty." Reportedly, Khan was upset with the kind of negative word-of-mouth around the film which he felt was "a clever marketing strategy to undercut the film when it was going on at full-steam in the theatres." Nandy, in addition to several other viewers, reported about "random people coming up to the audience and asking them to go back rather than watch the film" in several multiplexes across Mumbai.