Among other things, Ra.One has been labelled as Shah Rukh's most expensive midlife crisis. Perhaps there is some truth to that, feels Abhishek Mande.
Anyone, who has written about India in the last 10 years, will probably tell you about the 'two Indias' -- one that is leaping and bounding towards the future, eager to embrace everything that is new and the other that continues to be tied down by archaic traditions, refusing to adapt.
One wouldn't be entirely incorrect if one says the same about Shah Rukh Khan's Diwali release Ra.One.
Starring Khan alongside Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal , Ra.One, on the one hand, has special effects that no Hindi movie can boast of so far, but on the other, it is saddled with an almost 1990s-style treatment with songs popping out of nowhere and dialogues that make you cringe.
Even as Shah Rukh Khan flies over buildings, jumps over cars and even stops an out-of-control train with his bare hands, his valiant efforts to wow his audiences somewhat fail thanks to a weak storyline, some rather juvenile acting and a poor screenplay.
To make matters more unbearable, the dialogues go from bad to worse and Vishal-Shekhar's music -- barring a couple of numbers -- has little to offer in a film that could have possibly ushered in an era of science fiction cinema in mainstream Bollywood.
In a sense, Ra.One is a modern-day retelling of Frankenstein. A young boy (played rather well by debutant Armaan Verma) tells his techie father Shekhar (Shah Rukh Khan) to create a super-villain (played by Arjun Rampal), who isn't just evil but also invincible. The nerdy father, who heads a gaming division of a company, gives him just that not realising what he's unleashed upon the world.
Ra.One, you see, is a video game named after the antagonist in it who, because of the artificial intelligence programme (and a process too complicated to understand) designed into him, manages to break out of the virtual world and step into our world.
Needless to say, much havoc ensues and Shekhar's son Prateek manages to find himself in the eye of the storm and on the run from his evil nemesis who can take the form of anything he sees or touches, quite like T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
The allusions to popular sci-fi movies don't end here. There's a bit of Bicentennial Man with Sonia (Kareena Kapoor) falling in love with G.One, the boy that has the face of her dead husband and protects her and her son from a seemingly inevitable end. And there's even a hint of Matrix with trench coat-sporting characters cricking their necks before delivering punches.
The list can go on but what makes Ra.One such a drag is that through all of this, you're never once able to relate to any of the characters in the film let alone anything else.
Sci-fi movies do require a certain willing suspension of disbelief, but the makers of Ra.One demand a heck of a lot more. They seem to expect their audiences to take a blind leap of faith and hope that the charisma of one of India's biggest stars manages to hold the movie together.
Sadly and somewhat predictably, it doesn't.
Ra.One is one long disjoined chain of events and scenes that aren't just half-baked, but also lackadaisically connected with the seemingly sole purpose of being able to show the (almost) 46-year-old actor performing some breathtaking stunts.
Shah Rukh Khan is arguably one of India's greatest stars.
For most part of his career, Khan has had us eating out of his hands playing the inimitable lover. When his boyish charm and baby fat went away, Khan transformed himself into a cheeky hero akin to the character he played in the second half of Om Shanti Om , getting away by saying and doing the darndest things.
Ra.One is Khan trying to reinvent himself yet again, this time as an action star, a dream that I am told he's harboured for the longest time.
It isn't surprising that his next film set for an Xmas release is Don 2, the action-thriller where he plays a dreaded underworld don. And even as he looks promising in it, his role in Ra.One leaves a lot to be desired.
For the entire first half of the movie, we see Khan as a bumbling father who talks in a rather cliched south Indian accent, eats noodles and curds with his hands and hopes to gain his son's acceptance by doing everything from dressing up in tight leather pants to even going to the extent of creating an invincible villain for him.
If, by making him do all of this, director Anubhav Sinha hoped to make Shekhar lovable, I am not sure he succeeded.
It is only much later, almost closer to the intermission that we see Shah Rukh Khan's 'action avatar'. Here, in one particular shot Khan as G.One is perched atop a broken car against a London [ Images ] skyline. His intense look and poise sparks a glimmer of hope in a movie that promises to be a dreadful watch.
Unfortunately, it lives up to this promise and everything from there is a downhill ride despite all the special effects and some rather cool action scenes.
Which brings me to the SFX. There is no doubt that the effects we see in Ra.One are the best in Bollywood yet, but to say that they're comparable to the Western standards would probably be an overstatement.
Ra.One seems to have been put together rather half-heartedly -- a song forced in here, a handful of laughable special appearances there (including an unforgivable one of Superstar Rajinikanth) and a little slapstick comedy and rona-dhona thrown in too.
In the weeks before its release, Ra.One has been called many things. Among them, it has been labelled as Shah Rukh's most expensive midlife crisis. After watching the movie, it seems to me that perhaps, just perhaps there might be some truth to it after all.
I am going with 2 out of 5 star ratings for Ra.One, a film that could have been great fun but didn't live up.
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Movie Review:Ra.One is surely crafted as a kids’ entertainer
| Movie Name: | Ra.One |
| Star Cast: | Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Armaan Verma, Arjun Rampal |
| Director: | Anubhav Sinha |
| Producer: | Gauri Khan |
| Music Directer: | Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani |
| Genre: | Sci-Fi |
| Story Story: The story is about a father and son’s relationship. Shekhar Subramanium (Shahrukh Khan) tries everything possible to impress his son, but Pratik (Armaan Verma) believes that his father is not so cool. In the effort to impress his son, Shekhar designs a game which changes their lives. The game which was meant to be played starts playing with their lives marking the entry of Ra.One and G.One. Story Treatment: With months of promotional activities, Ra.One has tremendous curiosity value attached to it. The story juggles between Sci-Fi and Bollywood drama and leaves the audience enthralled in parts. The first half depicts various shades of a father-son relationship whereas, post interval the action unfolds. However, the script tends to lose its track by making the efforts tasteless. Comparisons with Rajinikanth’s Robot and SRK’s Ra.One are bound to happen, especially in sequences built upon the same track. For instance, the train chase sequence brings back flashes of Chitti and his robotics skills when compared with the aerial G-One. Star Cast: Shahrukh as Shekhar is innocent, crystal and natural. King Khan as G-One tries to carry the aura of superhero with immense poise, but is caged as a ‘family superhero’ rather than messiah of all. Kareena Kapoor (Sonia Subramanium), as always, manages to be easy on the eyes with her great looks and acting calibre. She also makes one realise that even in a superhero film, a heroine is must. Armaan Verma is a superb pick for the role as he sinks into the character perfectly, sometimes even outshining established stars like SRK and Kareena. Rajinikanth, rightly referred to as the ‘Real Superhero’ in the movie as well, steals the show within few seconds of his entry and makes the crowd clap and whistle with his mere presence. Arjun Rampal walks away with the cake for his deadly looks and impresses as the real bad man. Sanjay Dutt and Priyanka Chopra are wasted. Satish Shah’s presence induces few funny moments. Shahana Goswami plays her part well. Direction: What’s noteworthy about Anubhav Sinha’s work is the fact that he has paid attention to the quaint essential bit on the technological front and also infused the right amount of emotional dose required for the movie to be termed an entertainer. The director makes his star cast look the best, yet loses few points as the track is led astray. At the same time, Anubhav understands the demand of Bollywood fans and tries to keep all the elements. Dialogue/cinematography/music: Dialogues are a concoction of emotions with a message which runs throughout the movie, almost forming its soul- Victory of good over evil. Cinematography is excellent, while music is decent. Chammak Chhallo which is already riding high on the popularity chart lives up to the hype created, while Dildaara displays the love and emotional saga between Kareena and Shahrukh. 3ups and Down: Ra.One is surely crafted as a kids’ entertainer. Compared to Chitti, the emotional side of G-One takes a hit. SRK’s fans who are missing him on silver screen after ‘My Name Is Khan’, can grab this opportunity to see their hero in a never-seen-before avatar. The movie is a joyful cinematic experience for game enthusiasts. |
RA-ONE MOVIE REVIEW by Kaveree Bamzai
Pataka? Item? Tota? An actor throws around a few casual words that mean a beautiful girl, until he hits upon one that encompasses all of the above: chammak challo. Shah Rukh Khan’s superhero-blue eyes light up, Kareena Kapoor’s red sari glows, and they start to dance to Akon’s song along with Russian dancers in Bharatnatyam-inspired mini-skirts. Yes, it’s that sort of a movie, where everything happens all at once. Amitabh Bachchan does part of the voice-over; Rajinikanth’s Chitti, the Robot, shows G.One, Shah Rukh’s superhero, how to twirl his sunglasses; artist Subodh Gupta paints the costume; and even pals Sanjay Dutt and Priyanka Chopra act out a juvenile joke, playing characters in video game where the star can vanquish the sisters of Bruce Lee called Iski Lee, Uski Lee and Sabki Lee. Even as you cringe at Shah Rukh’s Tamil accented Hindi and his eating-curd-with-noodle act, hoping his curly wig will fall into his dinner plate, you realise it’s a big party and everyone’s invited.
Welcome to a movie as a gigantic open house. Shah Rukh is the host and he will make sure your VFX canapĂ©s are delivered at regular interval; your emotion goblet is kept topped up; and there are enough homilies about being careful-what-you-wish-for that you can take home as back presents. 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. No effort is spared. Shah Rukh walks sideways on a Mumbai local train, stops an engine with his bare hands, charges himself with electricity, even slaps his heroine’s butt and grabs her breast. In between throwing cars at his arch nemesis, recently escaped from a video game; dancing like Michael Jackson; and quoting V. Shantaram, the superhero moves between the digital and real world, London and Chennai, burial as Christian and prayer as Hindu.
I presume there is some lesson here about being a global citizen, and Shah Rukh’s hyperactive child fans will no doubt benefit from it, but it would have been more fun to see more Volkswagens ploughing through many more red buses. But yes, we know, this is a superhero with a heart and ladai goliyon se nahin, dil se jeeti jati hai. The special effects work, but are not always evenly applied through the film. The cool metallic blue of the superhero suit doesn’t always show up on screen. And hey, Arjun Rampal really needs to stop clenching his teeth while delivering menacing dialogues. We are not scared because we simply cannot understand. Shah Rukh throws himself about, vaulting up and own buildings, leaping through the air and even landing on his feet with Kareena Kapoor in his arms. In the face of such indefatigable energy, we surrender. Go on, Shah Rukh, give it a rest. In the words of your superhero, you did good.
RA-ONE MOVIE REVIEW by Aniruddha Guha
Review: Ra.One is a half-baked attempt that entertains sporadically
Film: Ra.One
Director: Anubhav Sinha
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal
Rating: ***
“Raavan kabhi marta nahi. Issi liye tum har saal usse jalate ho.” The bad guy gets the best line in the film. Sadly, his screen time is minimal. Ra.One comes alive every time the good (G.One, Khan) and the evil (Ra.One, Rampal) face-off. But they hardly do.
Ra.One carries the burden of being Hindi cinema’s costliest film, and stars one of our biggest superstars. The film has almost everything going for it: The SFX is up-to-mark, the concept interesting, the scale mammoth.
But blame it on Anubhav Sinha, the director with slick-but-hollow films Dus and Cash on his CV (one worked at the box office, the other bombed). RaOne is no different; it is beautiful in appearance, but empty within. Which is a pity. Anubhav could have really made a mark with this one.
The SFX, no doubt, is the best you'll have seen in a Hindi film (and that's a big plus), but the shoddy writing spoils the party. What’s the point of having all that money and technology at your disposal, when the only sequences that truly stand out consist of two well-choreographed action scenes and an item song that amount to only about 11 minutes of screen time.
The rest is made up of characters periodically grabbing each other’s private parts, inane humour (Lady warriors called Iski Lee, Uski Lee, Sabki Lee), and stereotypes that range from a bumbling south Indian man to a fat black lady, and a homosexual customs officer (who salivates at G.One’s nipples, no less). Four writers are credited with the film's screenplay; each of them is squarely responsible for messing up the effort put in by the technical crew.
The disappointing thing about Ra.One is not that it resorts to inane jokes and done-to-death cliches in a desperate bid to 'entertain', but that it had the potential to truly kick some - as G.One puts it - "fat ass." In stead, we get a film that works in half measures.
So while the cameo by 'Superstar Rajinikanth' comes at an interesting juncture, it ends as abruptly, without either of the two stars really getting a chance to dazzle together. Or the action in the climax, which is set-up interestingly, but doesn't really give you the adrenaline rush you expect.
Another half attempt comes from the lead actor: Khan is in-his-element and endearing as superhero G.One, but annoyingly OTT as video game creator Shekhar. Even though die-hard fans will freak out, SRK'S G.One lacks the chutzpah of Main Hoon Na's Major Ram, where he similarly vanquished a terrorist called 'Raghavan' at the end.
As Shekhar's wife, Kareena does little than preen at the camera in sexy outfits. Rampal scorches the scene with his screen presence. The kid Armaan, as Shekhar's son Prateik, who learns the importance of siding with the good against evil, is charming despite the awful hairstyle.
Which brings us back to the film's best dialogue: "Raavan kabhi marta nahi". So then how can the good one ever be victorious? Oh well, we have the sequel to figure that out.
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