RA.ONE reviews

First and foremost, a note: I have almost always disliked 3D because it makes the movies a shade darker. And with everybody hell bent on shooting f... read more

First and foremost, a note: I have almost always disliked 3D because it makes the movies a shade darker. And with everybody hell bent on shooting films at night (Priest/Tron), going for such a film usually meant paying a little extra, popping your eyeballs out and returning with a headache 2 hours later. Ra.One gets this correct, with lots of daylight action. This is one flick where watching it in 3D makes a positive difference to your entire experience.

Coming back to the film, what is good about the movie ?

1. The VFX and the action sequences. Clean and well done.
2. The concept. New for an Indian audience.
3. The screenplay. Fast paced in chunks.

And what is bad?
1. Shah Rukh Khan stars in it. Well, if you hate the guy for no logical reason, you will put him down no matter what he will do. Superstar Rajni Saar got worldwide acclaim for making a similar film, while SRK gets panned by people who have not even bothered to watch Ra.One.
2. The starting. Really cheesy, dull and disappointing.
2. The VFX and the action sequences. Well, if you have been to Hollywood, you are not going to go gaga over them.
3. The concept. Old for an international audience, again.
4. The screenplay. It drags horribly in chunks !

What doesn't work for the film is the attempt to appease all sections of the audience: Ra.One doesn't completely run on the serious track, instead interspersing it with comedy which is unbecoming, given the fact that there has been a tragedy onscreen.

Apart from that, the film is a treat to watch. Comparing it with cinematic crap like Ready or Bodyguard is a misscarriage of justice. Watch it as a paisa vasool entertainer, and don't expect exemplary acting - simply because it doesn't need any. The concept and special effects do not leave much room for intense drama.

Ra.One is cinematic blitzkrieg. It is a perfect Diwali film, made on a grand scale with the sole purpose to wow its target audience and not educate them. Go.watch.it.once.view less

So finally Ra.One hits the theaters. So is it worth all the hype and hoopla? You bet it is. Is it going to break all the records in Bollywood histo... read more

So finally Ra.One hits the theaters. So is it worth all the hype and hoopla? You bet it is. Is it going to break all the records in Bollywood history? I don't know about that but SRK made sure he did break one record, that of the widest release in Bollywood history. The movie released in 2D as well as 3D. I caught the 2D version for now (3D will be the second helping).

The story which probably everyone knows by now is that of a game developer father (Shekhar), who in a quest to impress his son, builds the super villain of super villains, Ra.One. Due to a technology explained in the movie, Ra.One is able to cross the bridge between the virtual world and the real world and come to hunt Lucifer, the virtual world character of Shekhar's son whose real life name is coincidentally Aman Verma.The problem is Ra.One is almost invincible, so Shekhar's son unleashes G.One to fight him.

Although the story is silly in parts during the course of the movie, the graphics make more than ever for it. Never before have such graphics been witnessed in an Indian movie. SRK took a big gamble by going all in for this one and boy has it worked wonders. This film will open doors for special effects and animation in India. Mind boggling chase sequences and believable CGI make the movie watching experience a super enjoyable one. My favorite sequence was the train sequence. The public favorite was the special appearance of Rajnikant as 'Chitti the Robot'. There were several whistles and howls on his entry. What was most hilarious was that Kareena's character takes her 'palloo' on seeing him in respect LOL. On the negative side, the whole Tamil angle of SRK is irritating. Ra.One just dies too easily in level 3 aka the climax. Also some of the dialogs are corny but they could be taken with a pinch of salt.

The music is another strong aspect of the movie. Vishal Shekhar have done an awesome job in generating a game like feel to the music. It was disappointing to see the 'Jiya Mora ghabraye' track go missing. 'Bhare Naina' was the pick of the lot for me. 'Raftarein' worked for me as the background score in the train sequence.

SRK hams as the geeky Shekhar. He hams as G.One in the very end and you can see shades of My Name is Khan inertia. Kareena looks gorgeous and acts the part nicely. The kid Aman Verma stands toe to toe with the big stars and does a pretty decent job. The scene stealer though was supposed to be the villain played by Arjun Rampal. His role is so short you are left wanting for more. But he was by far the best actor on the set.

Hats off to Anubhav Sinha, Kanika Dhillon (for writing) & SRK. Anubhav Sinha does a mind blowing job in directing this magnum opus. It would have taken an enormous vision to bring this script to life and how. Take a bow Anubhav and take a bow SRK. You had the guts to do something different and you have pulled it off. The USP of the movie are its CGI and the fact that you never get bored for a minute in the movie. The movie runs at a fast pace and never derails from its track.

Overall a must watch for every Bollywood fan !

Reasons to watch:
1) Great CGI
2) Innovative storyline
3) Kick ass villain

Reasons to skip:
1) Big time SRK hater.

Repeat Value: Several times.

Rating: 7.9 / 10
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Ra.One Ra.One Ra.One. It's here there everywhere. This epic venture is touted to be SRK's answer to the talk of him being dethroned by Aamir & ... read more

Ra.One Ra.One Ra.One. It's here there everywhere. This epic venture is touted to be SRK's answer to the talk of him being dethroned by Aamir & Salman.The amount of money spent on this mega project ensures that you even see the adverts in the confines of your own bathroom. The question is, has KING KHAN returned to reclaim his throne?
The answer is NO. Sadly, this one is hugely disappointing and leaves you shell-shocked at the treatment given to a superhero film.

The story is that of Shekhar Subramanium(SRK), a geeky game developer. His son Prateek(Armaan) thinks his daddy is a wimp and his wife Sonia(Kareena) thinks hes goofy. Prateek wants him to design a game where the villain is more powerful and Shekhar does just that. But to his dismay, the game comes alive and Ra.One(Arjun Rampal) starts destroying people in the search for Prateek. In the bargain Shekhar goes down and in comes G-One who's main agenda is to finish Ra-One.

The start of the film is ridiculous and the cameos of Sanjay Dutt and Priyanka Chopra are plain simple stupid. SRK's south-Indian character is a stereotypical caricature and the initial 25 minutes are very forgettable.

The first action sequence between Ra-1 and G-1 is fantastic and makes you hope that the second half will be an action-packed ride. Unfortunately, the second half has a fare share of stupid jokes and kiddish action that leaves you wondering as to whom this film targets.

There are some scenes that are just strange like one on the airport where Shahrukh is shown with pierced nipples & a belly ring. The biggest flaw in the script is the lack of depth and substance, especially the beautifully shot train sequence that has zero action and just him flying from here to there. One expected more serious action from this one. The CGI is definitely superb and many steps ahead of regular Bollywood films.
The songs are hit-n-miss with Chamak Challo being the pick and the superb Raftaarein being reduced to a barely audible background score during the train scene.

SRK tries his best but doesn't pull off a superhero. His suit is great but the blue eyes and gelled hair don't quite speak badass. Arjun Rampal comes only in the second half and tries to scare. Kareena looks hot and is the pick of the lot. Rajni Sir's cameo is whistle-worthy.

The fault in this gargantuan venture lies in Anubhav Sinha. The writer-director falters yet again, this time on a canvas that is the biggest in Bollywood history. With the kind of money at his disposal, one would have definitely expected a tighter script and a more exciting screenplay.

To sum it up, if SRK catching Arjun Rampal's crotch in the middle of an action sequence is your idea of humour then this is your pick. To me, this is a kids film that is confused where its soul lies. I'd definitely appreciate the effort put in to take this risk but it still doesn't work.

At the box office, expect a riot with what I can assume would be a 30 crore opening day and a massive massive hit on SRK's hand. Alas, while it might shatter all previous records, it still doesn't make it good cinema.

For me, Its plain-n-simple disappointing. Avoid it on Diwali, watch it some other day if you must.
P.S- One of the best parts of the film is the new theatrical trailer of DON-2 at the start. UNMISSABLE and riveting. That might actually be his return to the throne.

Happy Diwali view less

As I sit to put my Ra.One's experience in words (better way than to say ' I shall write review', 'coz who cares for reviews, anyways?), King Khan's... read more

As I sit to put my Ra.One's experience in words (better way than to say ' I shall write review', 'coz who cares for reviews, anyways?), King Khan's dream project is already setting Box-Office ablaze with Rupees, Dollars, Pounds etc flowing-in a huge way. In any case, was it unexpected or unprecedented? After over-the-top publicity spree (which started a year back), King-Khan's global fan-following, releasing at humongous number of screens worldwide and festive weekend (with NO competition wat-so-ever), the success of Ra-One in initial few days is always expected and a certainity. But, the question remains: how it would fare in week-days and whether audience thinks that Ra.One has repeat value. Lets find out from a common man's perspective.

The movie starts with a lecture on how the video game characters could be seen, touched blah blah blah. Frankly I did'nt understood a wee-bit, or more importantly I did'nt found it worth pondering. First 'half an hour' surely test your patience as if you have done some crime sneaking-into the theatre. This 30 minutes includes:
a) SRK's tamilian humor (only novelty value was eating noodles with curd). None of my tamilian friends use 'Aiiyyo' as much as SRK's character does in half-an-hour.
b) Sanju Baba and Piggy Chops cameo in dream sequence: Both the seasoned actors, along with Shahrukh himself, compliments each other with weak (let me add, 'Silly') dialogues, ham acting and stupid facial expressions.
c) Kareena Kapoor doing a 'thesis in Gaalis (Abuses)'. Whatttt??? Ya, Right!! Go and figure it out and do 'enlighten' me too.
d) Humor comes from booby keys and condom-condom?? If that's way to tickle the funny bone, it surely brushes it the wrong way. Well, I must say I would prefer Shahrukh's interviews and his Filmfare Awards' hosting any day.
Free-Tip: For real-humor (and healthy laugh), watch out for dance-steps of the Chinese Character (Akaashi) in the 'Criminal' song. You would die laughing.

Then again, how the hell video game characters comes to the real world? I don't know, don't ask me!! Believe me , its rather inconsequential; I am sure even writers did'nt had any clue about this presumable clownishness. If you are craving for some action in this Super-hero flick, you need to wait 1 hr and 10 mins when the first time G.one and Ra.One comes face to face. Immediately cars starts flying and our Super-Hero/Villain does fists-pumping and muscles-flexing stuff. Sadly, the wait is eternal and the outcome is too trivial to my liking.

After this 'high-octane' action scene, the 'two-Ones' meet at the climax. In between, there is lotzz of emotional drama and 'attempt-at-humor' and yes Chammak-Challo too. The best part surely is Chammak Challo; really happy to see 'Zero' of Kareena's figure going bit more rounder. Much touted local train action scene could have been better; it raises few 'OOHs' and 'WOWs' but fails to raise the adrenaline rush even by an iota (That, for me, is the drawback of excessive publicity; you tend to expect a bit-too-much for much-talked about scenes). Rajni's cameo still works as an exception and is welcomed by the whistling and clapping audiences.

FULL marks to SRK for using technology and VFX (Special Effects, Computer graphics, watever) to good effect and spending crores on his magnum-opus. Still I feel, a bunch of good writers, a good director and super-efficient editor could have been a better choice. I am sure SRK would have already recovered all his money back but if his intention was to entertain people with something that has never been tried before in Indian Cinema, then that 'novel-intention' is still not fulfilled.

Maverick's Verdict: Ra-ONE is a super-hero flick with a good HART (Or, Heart) but without a BRAN (Brain or Brawn).
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He is Spiderman, he is Batman, he is Batman, he is IronMan, why he is every man you can name from the world of super heroes all rolled in to one. Y... read more

He is Spiderman, he is Batman, he is Batman, he is IronMan, why he is every man you can name from the world of super heroes all rolled in to one. Yet Ra.one manages to entertain and impress, if not leave a lasting impression.

Ra.One is a spectacle from the word go. SRK is a gaming engineer whose son loves the bad guys more than his heroes. To please him, SRK creates a game where the evil never dies. The bad guy from the game, Ra.one comes into real life, and all hell breaks loose.

The film has a decidedly comic book feel to it in terms of treatment. Not taking it self seriously, the story flows at a pretty decent pace, not letting the tempo down at any moment. Coupled with this is a stupendous array of CGI and special effects that dazzle. As you whistle and scream, SRK as G,one delivers one fantastic scene after another, be it the car chase in London streets or the spectacular train sequence in Mumbai. As if the masal was not enough, Rajnikanth makes a blink and miss appearance too.

So then is Ra.one the next giant leap for Hindi Cinema? In terms of effects and money being spent at the right places yes. Every scene is lavish in both scale and execution. One cannot but marvel at the ambition of the team and amazing amount they have managed in the final product.

However, Ra.one is a let down in terms of cinema as such. It gives you what Krishh and Robot gave you, albeit with much more finesse but does not go beyond the gimmicks the earlier films had. The story plays to the gallery, SRK is his usual self, Kareena does what Aishwarya did in Robot, just a zillion times better, and thats about it. The film could have been much better, tighter, and stronger in the story department and content.

Yet, from the first scene to the last it packs enough fireworks to light up the Diwali season. There is a huge amount of money spent, along with loads of sincere intent, and it shows. Watch it definitely once, in 3D (it is the best for a Hindi film yet). It is not an X-Men or a Transformers, but it definitely beats a Green Lantern or Spy Kids any day. view less

Well, it is The Y Factors first review of a Shahrukh Khan film. (We skipped MNIK). That was the time in January 2010, when The Y Factor started wi... read more

Well, it is The Y Factors first review of a Shahrukh Khan film. (We skipped MNIK). That was the time in January 2010, when The Y Factor started with the review of Rann. So ever since the creation of The Y Factor, there has been no SRK release.

Has it been worth the wait? Has SRK delivered to the public, what he has been promising since the past 22 months during the making & and in the past 2 months while marketing the film.

The film is about a father and son, one a game maker whilst the other an avid gaming buff. Shekhar (Shahrukh Khan) is trying to convince his gizmo freak, villain loving son, Prateek (Armaan Verma) the values of good, evil and life. Completing their circle of love is Sonia (Kareena Kapoor, Bodyguard, Golmaal3) the out of control Punjabi kudi, busy completing her thesis on the usage of foul language and its impact if used on the male gender (tere tau ka poda, for starters).

Dalip Tahil is the owner of Barron Industries, which employees Shekhar and assigns them a new video game. Shekhars colleagues Jenny (Shahana Goswami) and Okashi (Tom Wu) successfully design and launch a game titled RA.One (Random Access ONE). On the launch night, RA.ONE successfully manages to step out of his virtual world and enters the real world to complete his unfinished game with Lucifer. For the rest, watch the film.

This film has been touted as the most expensive film in India, largely attributing its costs to the use of CGI to recreate the game scenes and for the fights and chases. Money well spent, each and every rupee, dollar and pound. The special effects of the film are world class and for that alone SRK should take a bow! Be it the game scenes or the chase of RA.ONE across the streets of London, truly world class. Kids will love this aspect of the film and they do. Hamza could not sit on his seat during the car dump sequence.

Cinematography by Nicola Pecorini and V Manikanandan is again top notch. Be it the aerial shots of London or the in your face sequences in the house, they involve you as an audience in the film.

The music of the film by Vishal Shekhar is mindblowing. Even their background score, especially the high pitched signature tune for RA.One is haunting. The Dildaara song really leaves an impact throughout the film, whilst Bhare Naina stirs the right emotional chords. Criminal really gets the crowd moving and what can one say about USs latest import to India, Akons Chammak Challo. Amatullah was dancing in the aisles and the crowd in this Mysore multiplex really shook the floor when Kareena took to the stage. Excellent choreography by Ganesh Hegde.

The story by Anubhav Sinha is simple and sweet. Coupled with the fast paced screenplay by Anubhav Sinha, Kanika Dhillon, Mushtaq Sheikh and David Benullo, the film does not waste time in unnecessary, long drawn fight sequences or useless talk, thus keeping the tempo on throughout. At around 2 hours the film does not have a single dull moment. Unlike other films of late, the film does not take itself too seriously. The intricacies and the reasoning of how and why the real and virtual worlds collide, is expressed do beautifully in the opening shot (just like Robot had explained about humanoids last October), that no one wastes time trying to figure out how and why are things going out of hand. Another bow for the makers for that.

The acting is just right for every character. Be it the intrusive Iyer by Satish Shah or the larger than life Richard Bransonish Barron, pun intended by Dalip Tahil. The supporting role by Tom Wu is good. Shahana Goswami doesnt have much to do hence looks so much more out of place whilst shaking her booty due to her weight. Cant afford to do that if you are sharing the screen and the syncing the step with Bebo!

The direction of the film is good. Anubhav Sinha has his heart in the right place and it shows. If the rumours of good friend Karan Johar having directed the emotional scenes in the film, then it has to be the Karva Chauth scene. Brilliance.

Armaan Mehras debutant Prateek is brilliant. He is lovable as the disinterested brat, cute as the supporting son to the mother and charming as Lucifer. Wonderful job done by the casting team too in getting this boy right.

Arjun Rampal, though a late entry into the film, lives the character of the villain. But there should have been more opportunity for him to be onscreen.

Kareena Kapoor looks like a trillion bucks! Be it the smart westerns or the Chammak Challo item
saree, Manish Malhotra has done a helluva job in her outfits. But more than that, it is Kareenas smile which is charming and contagious. She shares an excellent chemistry with Shahrukh and that is scene throughout the film. Be it in the Jackie Chans Armour of God inspired fight sequence at Mumbai airport, the dinner table conversation over noodles and curd or the handling of G.ONE at home. After Bodyguard, another winner for Kareena and a well deserved one at that.

Now for the man, whom you can love, you can hate but you cannot ignore. The Badshah of Bollywood, Shahrukh Khan. Playing various roles here, as producer, actor and chief marketing officer of the film. As a producer, one has to give full marks to him and thank him, for having made such a product in India. The fights, the London chase etc. have him presenting us with things only seen in Hollywood films. He has taken inspiration from all sources, Shankars Robot included and taken in several notches higher. As a marketing person, over and above the tie ups with a food joint, a gaming company, notebook manufacturer, paint company and what not, SRK has managed to use his resources very well. Be it Priyanka Chopra and Sanjay Dutt for the opening sequence, Amitabh Bachchans voiceover in the introduction of the game or Superstar Rajnikants cameo as Chitti. He does it with class.

SRKs star power can be seen right in his intro scene as Lucifer. One cant hear anything else besides the crowds whistles and the hooting for their star. Later as his entry as G.ONE again, you see how much the crowds love him and deservingly so. But his true star power is seen, when the crowd sees Chitti and for a split second, one is treated to both of them in 1 frame. For the rest, he pays tribute to THE SUPERSTAR Rajni, for whom he has given an entry and how in the film. I was worried the crowd would uproot the chair in the plex to honour their GOD.

All in all, please treat your self to a special Diwali. This is not an epic drama or love story. This is a tender love story of a father and son, explained in the backdrop of something which todays generation identifies and relates too. For SRK, 2011 is going to be another 1993, wherein he gave Baazigar and Darr in a span of a couple of months and stole the hearts of the audiences worldwide. Likewise Diwali with RA.One and Christmas with DON2, after a long break of almost 2 years...SRK IS BACK!

Does it have The Y Factor:YES
Rating:9/10

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So what it was finally released on a Pa.one day (Diwali), the destiny is stated sometimes. Destiny was stated for this movie also. It will work (ev... read more

So what it was finally released on a Pa.one day (Diwali), the destiny is stated sometimes. Destiny was stated for this movie also. It will work (even the real Raavan can guess that). But will it be appreciated and genuinely generate Likes on facebook? Lets assess this through a video game

The Game
SRK, our game developer develops a game in which villain is more powerful than the good hero. Why? To impress his kid who thinks his dad (SRK, curly baalo wala) is a dodo. The game characters are named quite smartly as Ra.one and G.one. Recall your childhood days where games used to have stages. Here, the virtual stage looks interesting but the next stage is played in reality, where Ra.One comes out of the game to kill our game developer. Now, G.One has to kill Ra.one.
SRK has the controls, he shall win.

Characters
Ra.One (played by RA.mpal! Arjun Rampal that is). He looks villainous and is a suitable cast for Ra.One.
G.One (played by Sa.Ra.ukh Khan). Firstly, why has he taken over my idiot box. It seems the code of the game has been miraculously shared among all the broadcasters in India. Man! Every second ad ends with a man depressing dressed in glittering blue-black suit and looking over the city (Batman stolen concept). Its a norm that 80% of the ad space before any SRK movie will feature him. Excess of co-marketing, incase anybody is researching on this topic, you have a fabulous opportunity (courtesy: SRK). Phew! Don 2 is coming; I should start playing video games and not even look at my idiot box.
Coming back to movie, SRK puts in genuine effort and tries his best BUT cannot produce the quality of acting which could have justified his effort and hard-work. He is ok as G.One (much much better than his irritating South Indian avatar as the game developer). Even as G.One he does not look like a SuperHero. All major superhero have a face accessory/mask (guess! It was a missing here)
Sonia (played by Ka.Reena Ka.poor) looks gorgeous here (watch her in red colour sari).
Prateek (played by Armaan Verma) he should acted after a hair-cut else acting was satisfactory.
Other non-routine side-kicks were Sanjay Dutt, Priyanka Chopra, Rajini.

Music of the movie is awesome and is something different to hear. Chamak Chalo is addictive (Hindi song sung by an international pop singer). Akon, bhai you rock (dil se re).

Lines about the story -
Why do need presence of stars of likes of Sanjay Dutt, Priyanka Chopra, Rajini. This tells us about the confidence in script. The biggest flaw of Ra.One is its script. It LACKS creativity, given the fact budget was huge, some sequences are played out so safe. With Rs. 150 Cr to dispose, script could have incorporated some never heard of action-sequences. Even the styling of G.One suit looks heavily inspired from Ironman.
Ra.One has technology but not class, which a movie like Swades had.

What works : hype (yes! SRK you are successful in it), technology in Bollywood movies, Music
What not : Script, Expectations

AG verdict : (quote borrowed from a friend) Kuch bhi ho, dekh to aaye kya movie hai.

Rating?
Ya! I usually give rating quite early in my reviews. Here, factors to analyse are many. SRK has put a lot of hard work, if not quality. The quantity will work for him again. He has released 5000 prints of Ra.One (70-80 in Russia), thus opening new avenues for Hindi movies. Only a few in Bollywood can do it, SRK has leveraged it to quite a level with immense hype.
Ra.One Ra.ting 3/5 (generously rated)

'log Raavan ko is liye baar baar maarte hain kyunki vo kabhi marta nahin hai' (you curse SRK as an irritating fellow because you know he will redo it this is emotional translation)
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Sometimes for the sake of cinema you really want to like a film. You are willing to let go of minor flaws. But when it becomes a task to find the g... read more

Sometimes for the sake of cinema you really want to like a film. You are willing to let go of minor flaws. But when it becomes a task to find the good in bad you know the film has failed.

What's it about? - A father (Shahrukh Khan) creates a game to impress his son. In this game the villain ra.one (Arjun Rampal) has more power than the hero g.one (Shahrukh Khan) but one day ra.one comes out of the game because Prateik (Shahrukh's son) leaves the game half way. Now, Ra.One has to find him and finish the unfinished game.

Does it work for me - No.

Why? - The film excels in the intent to make a superhero film when the others are remaking tried and tested south Indian films and just for this risk Shahrukh Khan needs to be applauded. But he goes horribly wrong in picking up the team to execute his dream film. The writing is uninspiring and childish. It won't even leave a 10 year old impressed. The direction by Anubhav Sinha stays focussed only on the key action sequence and in getting the visual effects right. There is no attention given to how the story is flowing. Everything is disconnected. The attempt at humour is crass which makes me wonder how did the censor pass it with for universal viewing. How do you explain to a child things like why 3 women are called isko lee, uski lee and sabki lee, why there is an attempt to add new abuses, why there is an entire scene about g.one touching Kareena's breast. Arjun Rampal was a waste in the villian's role. The guy who plays Akashi is a better bet at being the villain. You need to be an ardent Shahrukh fan to like this film.

Final few words : Ra.One is a dream of Shahrukh that might turn into a nightmare for some and for some like me it would be a case of the film meeting expectations that were very low to begin with.

Rating : **

Ticket Meter : Worth 150 bucks.


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He is conceived out of a videogame which was designed to give better abilities to the super-villain. Bad guy pops out first in real time to avenge ... read more

He is conceived out of a videogame which was designed to give better abilities to the super-villain. Bad guy pops out first in real time to avenge being beaten up in the virtual world (by the person who played, and to actually finish the GAME) But he wants to kill him off for real (and also random people he thinks are useless). Now, the good one must pop out too, to kill his counterpart, no drag him back to the videogame. Eh, whatever.

An over-complicated plot which at times is too somber for its own good and at times which succumbs to frivolity for its lack of conviction, Ra.One is neither an incredible display of technique, nor a film boasting of ambition. It is such a badly calculative drama, the superficial surface stands out significantly without allotting any space to ponder over or retain something from the picture.

By that I mean, even if the audiences are entertained it is a momentary triumph, not a long-term leverage. An equation which is fine if one is out to watch a Ready or a Bodyguard. But the very way Ra.One was touted as, nothing mediocre was even thought of, forget substandard.

The film has a blatantly embarrassing prologue which shows us a cleavage-screening Priyanka Chopra trapped by Sanjay Dutts Khalnayak screeching for a long-haired hero to rescue her. It is unfunny, and what is surprising is this was thought off as the opening sequence of a film which the makers are hoping, receives historic stature.

Sorry, but you lost it right there.

Sharukh Khan plays Shekhar Subrhamanyam a game developer who drives very badly. That is to be taken as his funniest character trait, unless you count eating curd-noodles with fingers. His son Pratiek, thinks lowly of him, and his wife (Kareena Kapoor) shows no outstanding emotion, apart from being the pretty and cutesy mommy-wife. To please his son, and appear somewhat heroic, Shekhar creates a game which would give the baddie an upper-hand, but eventually will lead the Good one to win. Good over Evil stuff.

There is the entire built-up in which father Shekkhar should come across as clumsy and coward so the film validates his bravura and all the coolness as it climaxes. But too much time is spent in literally portraying him as a coward, and the instances here are plain boring, and unfunny. Where a cleverly thought character was required, screenwriters make Sharukhs Shekhar a South Indian who is somewhat socially alienated a role annoyingly reminiscent of Rizwan Khan, more so when he is G.One. Neither is the character likeable, nor does Sharukh enacts the part with any exception. The mannerisms archetypal, the tone sounds abnormal on him. When he is transformed to G.One, he is just a caricature who speaks robotically, which wasn't even a compulsion. G.One repeats at first, and then has his own lines. He says he doesnt comprehend emotion, but then he has plenty of them. All these hiccups steal away any aspirational value which one would ideally want in G.One, or for that matter, in any superhero.

Most of the sequences deviate from continuity and are planted just because they ought to BE there, because they would make the screen look so awesome. Like Arjun Rampal walking like a seasoned model with the burning Ravan in the background. Beautiful it might be, but drastically unfitting.

The dialogue which again is an important parameter in gauging the greatness of a superhero film, is the weakest point. Sans any wit, also lacking the robustness required to polish the film with intelligence, the lines are either melodramatic (Acche log marte hain, acchaie kabhi nahi marti) or fall flat (Of course main use bachaunga, isiliye to main Jeevan hoon) Some of them are insipid bordering vulgarity, which simply isnt amusing.

The action the apparent USP is good, especially some chase sequences, but nothing shockingly novel about them. One marvelous scene includes a local train crashing out of CST onto the main crossroad (Inception, anybody), G.One wrestles his way to palm-stop it (Hello, Spiderman), and a while later Kareena Kapoor lands on his arms while he swings down and hops off (Batman Begins) Finely executed but wholly unoriginal.

Yet we arent at the core defect of Ra.One.

It is the sheer insufficiency of ambition in a larger-than-life figure. For Ra.Ones only purpose after flocking out of the video is to kill a little boy nothing beyond is even speculated. Which consequentially leaves G.One with the solo purpose to save the boy. Nothing fanciful here, do the diminutive job, somebody else can threaten humanity, or take over the world. We will play videogames.

And show some lighting-infused spectacle. Its Diwali, too.

Khan promoted the film saying it is a film about a father-son relationship, which it hardly is. There are no peculiar moments between the said father-son, not even the camaraderie is thoughtfully developed.

Even if you bargain everything wrong with the mammoth production, what will escalate your disappointment is lack of a single outstanding performance. It was as if everybody was so engrossed in perfecting the VFX knick-knacks, acting became a part-time job.

So as it is, I really have nothing to recommend in Ra.One to you, apart from a couple of songs and some rare action here and there. However this doesnt mean Ra.One is a terrible film; it means Ra.One was packaged far too seductively for it to actually deliver. It is like you pay a bomb for potential fireworks and they collectively turn out to be damp squibs.

What I expected was to forget the number of times I devoured-in some kickass luminosity. What I received was a fake Bandra station, an Azad Maidan beyond recognition, a Mumbai which is so Chennai.
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SRK had claimed before making this film that he is making it for his son. Well it clearly is an homage to fatherhood. It is a case of old school tr... read more

SRK had claimed before making this film that he is making it for his son. Well it clearly is an homage to fatherhood. It is a case of old school trying to be cool, leaping one generation gap after another in wannabe 3-D mode.

Lets begin with the story. The film is a good example of Hollywood sci-fi meet Bollywood escapism. But the screenplay itself has many holes through which all manner of logic falls. Take for example the scene where Shah Rukhs son and colleague discover that Ra.One has come to life from a video game, destroying the lab where the research is done. Now this happens after SRKs character dies and a good mourning period has passed. But not a soul in the big corporate developing the game has found out that the lab has been destroyed and people killed. I guess everyone was on a Diwali break. Even SRK who is called Shekhar Subramanium has a beautiful white-rose coffined funeral amidst pouring rain. How very convenient.

Now the second hero of the film; graphic and 3-D work. Technically the film is quite weak and the 3-D stuff is one of the shoddiest I have seen this side of Chhota Chetan. In fact in a couple of scenes you can see the ropes SRK is hanging by while performing stunts. And if you are watching this film in 3-D, do take your glasses off, everything looks double. I feel that Indian filmmakers should not undertake such meticulous endeavors. It falls flat on its face, making the crores spent on it look cheap (even if a better product would have taken several more).

Now onto our stars. Kareena Kapoor looks more like an elder sister to her son and a younger one to Shah Rukh. She is also back to her Bebo days when nostril flaring and eyebrow raising constituted for good acting. Shahana Gowswami looks out of place while whatever Arjun Rampal says barely makes any sense. In fact in the print that I watched, most of the dialogue was quite unclear making me wonder if I had walked into a Tamil film. (But again it could be the problem of this one particular cinema hall). The young debutant Armaan Verma is good in some scenes and effortlessly displays the bad-ass attitude that this generation is proud of. Shah Rukh tries and tries. His energy levels are quite talked about by trade people and it shows. He has attempted everything that would make him a superhero to any son. He is funny in parts, eloquent in some and just Super(b) in others. But he is neither muscular nor larger-than-life; something that should be a pre-requisite to being a super hero and something that a Hritik Roshan would have carried of much better. Yet he entertains. But is it enough to cut out his work as a producer of such a magnum opus?

In all this grand-some frenzy, we somewhere forget the captain of this mega ship, director Anubhav Sinha. Now how much of this film is his vision and how much the producers, it would be impossible to tell. And we may never know, and Sinha would unfortunately escape the brunt of this bugaboo. But frankly, his head too must roll for not having seen some obvious loopholes. Even if he was a bystander director, no self respecting filmmaker can have ropes peaking away from the actors behind. His job is to apply his head when all others are using their hearts. He fails at it miserably.

So whats the verdict then? The film entertains and works for the audience that it is intended for. But for true SRK fans, who prize themselves on being the slightly elite and educated might be disappointed. Salman fans dont persecute their hero for his absurdity but SRK lovers do. And they might just with this film. But its still worth a watch after all this hassle. At best youd call Ra.one the best gift that a little boy had from his amazing dad.
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