Can this Bollywood Superhero "RA ONE" do what some Hollywood Superheroes should have done?

The trailer for the Bollywood movie "RA One" is "insane" looking, I'm frankly not sure if that means it looks really, really good or if it's got train wreck written all over it...

If the name Shah Rukh Khan means anything to you at all, it could be that a few years back he was famously detained by American airport security, something that he didn't take too kindly to and made a big fuss about. Welcome to America, buddy. Ironically, "RA One" was initially supposed to shoot in Miami, before budget considerations sent it overseas to London instead...Way before London started to burn down that is.



So what's it all about? I have no idea, but apparently Shah Rukh Khan plays some robot dude who fights folks, runs around really fast, and other cool robotical, technical looking stuff. Hey, if nothing else, the trailer is kinda cool, and it certainly looks freaking expensive.



India will be able to access "RA One" first on October 26, 2011. The film originally had a Summer release date, but apparently there was too much post-production work left to be done on the many special effects, thus the delay.

SRK: Superhero or Superstar?

What is the difference between a superhero and a superstar? Both are idolized by millions and beloved by hordes of fans. Both make us believe in the unimaginable. So are they really that far apart? Bollywood badshaah Shahrukh Khan seems to think so, and he should know as a superstar playing a superhero in his upcoming film Ra.One.
"A superhero's larger purpose is always very selfless and a superstar's larger purpose is to stick to films," SRK explained. "I'm not selfless. My highest purpose in life is to make a great film." That's quite a bit of honesty coming from an actor, who are often considered modern-day heroes.
Any mention of Ra.One get SRK talking about his pet project. His character in the film, G.One, is said to be made up of "solid electricity". It seems the new technological era has lent itself well to a new kind of superhero. "In olden times, superheroes could come from planets because they were out of understanding. Now, the quantum part is more difficult to understand than the macro part of it." Ra.One will take the superhero mythology in a new direction, hoping to separate itself from the plethora of popular comic book heroes. "We felt that if we took the modern, new creation [Internet] of man and say a superhero and super villain can be created out of it, that would be really unique."
Praise for the film has already been pouring in, even though it is set to release on Diwali, which is months away yet. "The other day, somebody told me my car shot is like Krrish andGI Joe: Rise of the Cobra. It didn't happen, so we did it digitally. If I had known we'll go digital, I'd have done it even bigger."
But being righteous and heroic isn't the only thing on Shahrukh Khan's plate. Releasing soon after Ra.One will be the Farhan Akhtar directorial sequel Don 2, which releases in December. "As an actor, it's good fun – to be so evil and be so good. It's very exciting. I have this cool look, long hair and beard in [Don 2]."
Whether good, bad, or somewhere in-between, we love to see Shahrukh Khan on the silver screen!

'Ra.One’ launch game plan

It's well known that Shah Rukh Khan will launch the 'Ra.One' game a month before the film releases in October, 2011. However, it has been recently learnt that one chapter of the game focuses on Kareena Kapoor, who's also doing extensive Lara Croft kind of stunt in it. Though, it's another thing that she has only a couple of hand-to-hand combat scenes in the movie. The game programmers are also working on incorporating her 'Chhamak Chhalo' song in it because this number with Akon has generated abundant hype even without any visual being out.

Probably, it has another plus for a massive opening for the film. However, the makers may not have intended their film to be publicized this way. Recently, a leading international website alleged that Priyanka Chopra is playing a transvestite in the film in which she has a cameo. Industry insiders feel, although Priyanka has experimented with a variety of roles in her career so far, choosing to play a transvestite might be taking things a little too far. Director Anubhav Sinha isn't pleased at all with this unexpected turn of things. He too alleges that it's a conspiracy to create some negativity around the film. As for who may have spearheaded the gossip, we can only keep guessing for now.

Ra.One Game

Produced by Red Chillies Entertainment, Ra.One, directed by Anubhav Sinha and starring Shah Rukh Khan, Arjun Rampal and Kareena Kapoor is one of the films that fans are eagerly awaiting to hit cinemas this year. It is a superhero tale that includes out of the world special effects and action sequences and is apparently one of the most expensive films made in Hindi cinema. As we reported first, part of the really cool promotions and tie-ins for the upcoming superhero filmRa.One, is the development of a Sony Playstation Game for both PS2 and PS3. Developed by Trine, this is a first for an Indian film and from what we hear the game is fab! According to Bottomline Media, "We are very excited about the Sony Playstation-Ra.One Game association. For the first time ever in India you see The SRK on the Playsation game." So, when can you get your hands on a copy? September 11th!

Based on an idea by Shah Rukh Khan, it features voiceovers by SRK, Arjun Rampal and Kareena Kapoor. The game's adventure is a prequel to the film: you get to meet the characters, learn their super powers and get immersed in the world of Ra.One, before the film even releases in October. So you can play as SRK's G.One, Arjun Rampal Ra.One and Shah Rukh told us exclusively earlier there is even a good and a bad Kareena character!

Shah Rukh Khan is very excited about this game, "It has been a dream since childhood to be somehow involved in videogame designing or making them as all kids dream of. So now many years down the line the dream is fulfilled!"

Adding, "Double pleasure gaming and movies….Ra.One on PS 2 & PS3…feeling like a kid all over. Hope everyone enjoys the game and also the movie. The game is awesome fun…G.One looks cool…so does Ra.One and Kareena in an avatar which everyone will enjoy….too thrilled. Finally can play a game…be a gamer and the game itself…YAY!!!"

We say YAY too and that we can't wait to play the game to hold us over until we can see the film when it releases on October 26th.

We have some exclusive screenshots of the game! Check out how cool and how good SRK looks in the virtual world too!

 

 

Ra.One Leads the Industry in Visual Effects Techniques

According to SRK Times, King Kahn’s much anticipated production Ra.One promises to be a visual effects masterpiece. Nothing like it has ever been created in the history of Indian cinematography.
One of the first Bollywood films to use visual effects was Mr. India, which was released by Shekhar Kapur in 1987. After viewing the short Ra.One trailor Kapur .

Shah Rukh’s Ra.One has raised the bar on VFX technique in Indian cinema… Hope other filmmakers catch up!
Since the release of Mr. India in 1987, the use of VFX in Bollywood has been very limited. In fact, the 2008 film Love Story 2050 was the first to incorporate visual effects in a major way. Although the film did not perform up to expectations, it created a precedent in Indian film making by including over 1,200 VFX shots.
Before Ra.One, Indian filmmakers have been known to use only 10 percent of their budget on special effects. Hollywood producers sometimes allot up to 70 percent. In addition, Bollywood films generally operate on a smaller budget overall. Hollywood sometimes spends up to $250 million just on VFX.  In comparison, the entire budget of Enthiran was around $36 million.
Enthiran’s VFX supervisor, Srinivas Murali Mohan says, “We tried to deliver visual effects of international standards within budget constraints.” Enthiran was the first VFX filled Bollywood film to reach great success.  SRK Times states that 2,000 VFX shots were used in its creation. Enthiran was a box office smash bringing in over Rs 350 crore upon its release.

But Ra.One promises to rival even the Hollywood hit Avatar, which has been praised for its use of visual effects. To create blockbuster, James Cameron included around 2,700 VFX shots. Ra.One has surpassed this with a staggering 3,500 visual effects shots.

Ra.One’s VFX supervisor Haresh Hingorani says, “The most difficult of shots in Ra.One were the ones that required Shah Rukh’s ‘suit enhancement’, which means combining actual shots taken using a camera with VFX shots. There are 800 suit shots and it took us five months to develop the pipeline for them.”
Shah Rukh Khan hopes that seeing the action and VFX of Ra.One on the big screen will draw in a younger crowd. In fact, he and director Anubhav Sinha are working right now on the possibility of releasing a version of Ra.One that includes 3D visual effects. These features are sure to be a strong selling point for all ages.

Anubhav Sinha, who is the father of three children ages 13, 10, and 9, says this film is designed to be… ”a treat for our kids. Ra.One is a father-son story. We wanted to do it for our children.”

Although the release of Ra.One is still months away, there is talk about the film’s potential success. Based on the stir it has already created, sources at SRK Times predict that Ra.One will become one of the top movies in the history of Bollywood films! And one reason the movie is bound to be popular is its large use of VFX shots, putting other movies to shame.
After viewing the trailer for the film, the review site Movieline writes that the “Captain America visuals pale in comparison to the 10 second Ra.One teaser.”

Making Of Movie - Ra One ( Shahrukh Khan )

SRK Wears Million Dollar Superhero Suits in Ra.One

According to the Hindustan Times, Shahrukkh Khan’s superhero outfit in Ra.One cost MORE than Rs 1 crore (which was initially reported). The actor told them that the cost of his rubber suit was in reality $1 million DOLLARS.
With about 20 of these suits used in the filming, that’s 20 TIMES 4.5 crore… or $20 million US dollars, a staggering figure even by Hollywood standards. Compare it to the total $100 million budget for the original Spiderman. And to top it off, SRK hinted that this figure didn’t include the cost of the villain’s costumes.
But expensive doesn’t always translate into excitement on the big screen. Back in May, it was reported that SRK asked his technical team to jazz up the look of his costume with computer-generated graphics. After seeing rushes of the film, he decided that his outfit needed to emit flashes of electricity and rays of light.
The superhero suits are made of rubber and foam with wires running through the apparatus, and were developed in the USA. Shahrukh had to wear the suit 8-9 hours a day during filming. Because he was unable to eat while it was on his body, he lost a massive amount of weight – though he has gone back to his healthy weight since then.
Shahrukh also joked about his rubber suits, saying they were like Spiderman’s: “You can’t wear them to parties. But yeah, you could probably wear G.One’s [the hero in the film] designer T-shirts.”

Kareena Kapoor’s Ra.One Diet Secrets

With her hectic travel and filming schedule for the Ra.One video “Chammak Challo,” Entertainment.Oneindia.in reported that Bebo needed to follow not one, but THREE specialized food plans.
Voted “World’s Sexiest Vegetarian” by PETA in 2008, Kareena is very careful about eating right to maintain both her health and her looks. She gets plenty of help from her dietician, Rujuta Divekar, who was tasked with the challenge of creating eating plans for the star’s recent whirlwind schedule.
Kareena’s customized eating regime actually began with her 21-day shoot for “Short Term Shaadi” in Las Vegas, which Rujuta said was the toughest leg of the diet. As she explained in the Oneindia.in report, “We had a Mumbai diet charted out on her return to the city, one for her stay in LV, another for her 24-hour flight from Mumbai to Las Vegas via London and then back again to Mumbai after the shoot ended.”
Finding exactly the right foods in Las Vegas proved especially difficult. And many actors and actresses actually lose too much weight during intense filming schedules, so maintaining Kareena’s energy with nutritious vegetarian food was just as important as watching the scale. Rujuta included dairy products like milk in Kareena’s vegetarian fare.
At one point in the filming, Kareena needed to convincingly eat several pancakes with maple syrup, much to Rujuta’s concern, since Bebo was scheduled to wear a little white dress for the “Chammak Challo” shoot.

Nevertheless, thanks to Rujuta’s coaching via Blackberry Messenger, Kareena was slim, fit, and glowed with health for the video shoot. “It was quite a tough thing to plan,” said Rujuta, “but Kareena managed everything perfectly.”

And ladies, if you’d like to know the secret to Kareena’s flawless skin, it’s walnuts and other dry fruits. Rujuta had Kareena eat those on the airplane. With their high Vitamin E content, they offset the dehydrating effects of the dry air and changing cabin pressure.
If that sounds like a yummy as well as healthy treat, even SRK couldn’t resist some aspects of Kareena’s diet. Watch this blog to find out what Shahrukh and Kareena snacked on during the Ra.One shoot!

Every Father Wants to be a Hero to His Son

Shahrukh Khan says that his superhero movie Ra.One is really a family movie – and that he wants it to be especially appealing to fathers with sons. As a father himself, SRK made the type of movie he would like to see, and he hopes fathers all over India agree.
The superstar said,

“I play a very genuine South Indian character in the movie. I’ve been thinking about the poster of the movie and I think the film can be put in one line as ‘Every father wants to be a hero to his son’.”

Shahrukh also says that he tried to keep the story simple, with real situations and dialogue. And while he has revealed very little of the movie’s plot, he did explain that the real underpinning of the story is the subtext that focuses on the family of the main character.

“Kareena (Kapoor) is my wife… we have a kid and we are a regular family – there is a lot of comedy, happiness and bonding, until all hell breaks loose. And then, there is action, which you hopefully have never seen before, at least in an Indian movie.”

The plot buzz online says that G.One, SRK’s character in the film, has a difficult relationship with his son, who doesn’t think much of his dad. In an attempt to prove himself to his son he enters the world of this son’s favorite video game, perhaps in the same way the characters enter the video game in Tron. When SRK attempts to defeat the villain in the game, the action really gets going.
And since SRK decided to do many of the film’s dangerous stunts himself, his own son should be delighted at his dad’s superhero persona!

Shahrukh Khan’s Ra.One Bike unveiled

We all know that the sci- fi thriller Ra. One is a big film for Shahrukh Khan. So it doesn’t come as a surprise to see Shahrukh pushing his limits for a particular scene.
The actor who dons a specially designed superhero suit for his role in ‘Ra.One‘ will be doing some deadly stunts and chase scenes on his sleek bike specially designed for the film..
Shahrukh always wanted to ride a bike and he fulfilled his desire on the sets of ‘Ra.One “Always wanted to ride bikes… mom never allowed me. Just so that she knows… this one I was tied to with wires so perfectly safe… for a romantic hero I felt quite the dude… ha ha,” Shah Rukh said on micro-blogging site Twitter.
Directed by Anubhav Sinha, ‘Ra.One‘, is a science-fiction superhero film starring Shahrukh, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal in pivotal roles. Produced under the banner of Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment, the film will release on October 26 this year.