|
|
 I remember the time the first teaser of Ra.One released during the World Cup this year, something very few studios would do so early. While some objected to this strategy, I felt Ra.One was heading in the right direction, one that should have been considered a very long time ago. After all, studios like Warner Brothers, Paramount and Fox usually end up revealing first looks almost a year before the release. This was followed up by a full blown trailer that created an impact. The eventful music launch (and its telecast on television) was yet another right move from a marketing perspective, and I began to feel that the sales and marketing team of Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies had nailed it. I remember writing in my blog that "as long as I see some logic in it, I'm going to support it. Else I'd probably trash it like I did Billu." As I sat down in the hall as the lights dimmed for the 3D version of the release, I was hoping and praying the movie would exceed my over-mounting expectations of it.
Set in London, the story traces the lives of a simple family consisting of a Tamilian game designer Shekhar Subramanium (Shahrukh Khan), his passionate Punjabi wife (Kareena Kapoor) and their coldly logical son Prateek (Armaan), who hates his father. Desperately attempting to connect with his son, Shekhar, along with his friends-colleagues Akashi (Tom Wu) and Jenny (Shahana Goswami), proposes a game in which the antagonist is going to be far powerful than his protagonist. At the game launch, Prateek tests the game, defeating the antagonist Ra.One (a pun on the mythological villain Raavan from the Ramayana), as Lucifer, his game alias. Unable to handle defeat, the program synchronizes itself to its suit model in the lab, and escapes into the real world, putting the Subramanium family in the ultimate form of jeopardy. The only option left to stop the battle would be to allow the game's protagonist G.One to escape to the real world as well. Let's first start off with the story, which, if reports are told to be true, was written by director Anubhav Sinha way back in the year 2005. Thing is whilst he was thinking way ahead of his time back then, in the current time the story feels a little dated. The screenplay boasts of quite an army of writers - Kanika Dhillon, David Benullo, Shahrukh Khan and Mushtaq Sheikh - but then as the saying goes ‘too many cooks can spoil the broth’. To be a bit more specific, while the first half sails smoothly forward - the bumbling family, the game design, the game launch, the terrific twist in tale during the final reels pre-intermission, and the breathtaking chase scene through the streets of London followed by an epic first battle between G.One and Ra.One - it's the second half which is a colossal letdown... The scene shifts from London to Mumbai, where Khan does some South style action (what on earth is up with these people so itchy to include a South styled scene everywhere?!) to save Kareena from a couple of goons. The characterization of Khan's Shekhar is flawed and Shekhar doesn't fit up to be the usual Chennai average joe they've wanted to portray him as, albeit he still manages to bring some charm. More on that later. Also, where there's supposed to be more action, the writers instead rely on gimmicks. The character arc of G.One is also pretty weak, and the McGuffin of the storyline changes from Lucifer to the father-son relationship to the game to good-versus-evil, confusing the viewers no end. Trying to meld Bollywood sensibilities with a Hollywood look obviously didn't work out. Dialogue by Niranjan Iyengar range from sharp-witted to the tacky and uncomfortable, but it's obviously not his fault if the screenplay writers were confused with whom they wanted to make a film for.
The movie though unravels itself in the penultimate moments, having a terrific train chase sequence, ending with the collapse of the Victoria Terminus. Sinha the director has proven time and again that if backed by a strong script with decent sensibility, he can work his magic. Here too, despite a terribly flawed screenplay narrative, he puts it all together and makes the viewers watch the whole film before leaving the cinema halls, extracting some noteworthy performances out of the actors. The guy should get much better projects than this in the future. Technically, the movie is top-notch for a Bollywood production. Extreme detailing on the pixelations of the protagonist and antagonist have been done realistically, and it's a treat to watch something like this in 3D (brilliantly converted by Prime Focus and Red Chillies VFX). Cinematography by Nicola Pecorini captures the visuals of London with a subtle delicacy. The Mumbai half is hampered by basic camerawork which doesn't really do much until the ending when the real action starts and the movie really picks up. One aspect that makes the film sail through it's annoyingly long runtime (2h 40m) is the film's editing which is tight and has a pace unlike the runtime would otherwise misguide us. Production design boasts of a rich look throughout. Music and background score by Vishal and Shekhar have a very international, upbeat feel especially the orchestrations used in the background score. Worth mentioning are “Chammak Challo†and “Criminal†(and oddly both the songs are signs of major turning points in the movie), followed by the racy “Jiya Mora Ghabraaye†which sets your hearts palpitating at the London chase sequence.
Also, the dragging of some random scenes in which G.One is on "standby" and Prateek's training session wherein G.One suddenly goes on a rampage is unwarranted for and an unnecessary addition to the movie's already lagging second half. The touted 'father-son relationship' here is pretty much non- existent. Arjun Rampal's minimal screen-presence after the mad hype disappoints. And what's with the "yo dude" stuff? I mean, we all use dude, but this one was way over-the-top and highly unrealistic for a kid his age of today's time. What more than makes up for them is the pace, the high-adrenaline thrills and action, and of course the performances. Shahrukh Khan has essayed both roles with a comforting ease, though I wish he'd worked on his accent a bit more, because at times we could all see him slip. With G.One, he's more than made up for his faults nevertheless, though he's an absolute charmer in both the roles. Kareena Kapoor performs flawlessly and looks gorgeous. The good thing is unlike with most films the leading lady here isn't ignored and is present throughout the film. Shahana Goswami's spirited performance has an abrupt end as she suddenly disappears midway only to conveniently re-appear in the end. Arjun Rampal is menacing and his villain is terrific, though his screen presence is minimal, and one wishes he was given more screen time. Rajinikanth is wasted, but he adds to the star power, just like Sanjay Dutt and Priyanka Chopra in the initial reels of the film. Satish Shah is disappointing. Period. Tom Wu is efficient, but gets punchier in the final moments of his role. Dalip Tahil is a joke. Others are good.
Most of us will agree that Ra.One is not the best in the genre, as being an avid watcher of a whole lot of Marvel and DC adaptations, I feel India has a long way to go before they can reach the perfect superhero formula whilst also blending the intricacies of Bollywood masala. But then, let us also consider that Shahrukh Khan has what other producers don't have till date: GUTS! The guts and the conviction to make something that's not conventional has allowed him to raise the bar of visual effects in the Hindi film industry, whilst also launching a new genre (previously tried with Krrish and Shiva Ka Insaaf) in a humungous way. Die-hard Shahrukh Khan fans and kids will love the movie, and for others, it's just like I told a friend after watching Avatar, "It's an experience! A big-screen experience! Nothing more than that." And just like Avatar which had it's heart in the right-place, Ra.One deserves a 3D viewing because of the flawless conversion, the mind-boggling effects and the thrill-ride, which would only be enjoyed on celluloid with those glasses on!
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Comments | Contact Us | Advertise | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy |
More Reviews and Analysis by PB Critics:
Let us know what you think about this review
But here's where a lot of things don't work at all. Though the visual effects of quite a lot of scenes are on par with international standards, there's a lot of room for improvement such that some scenes would look less animated and more realistic. For an avid watcher of Hollywood superhero flicks, Ra.One is lacking a lot of qualities of a normal superhero, especially the genesis and emotion which is a pre-requisite of all superhero flicks; considering the Iron Man and Batman reboot franchises, this one has a long way to go.