ra.one

Ra.One (Hindi: रा.वन; full: Random Access–Version 1.0) is a 2011 Indian science fictionsuperhero 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 byEros International and Khan's production company, Red Chillies Entertainment.^[3] Initially expected to hit theatres on June 3, 2011, the release of the film was pushed back to the Diwaliweekend of October 26, 2011 due to extensive post-production work involving special effects and 3D conversion. The film 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.

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,^[4] with principal photography commencing in March 2009.^[5] In July 2011, it was announced that the entire film would be converted into 3D.^[6]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 135 crore (US$27.38 million),^[1] Ra.One is the most expensive film ever produced in Indian cinema, and is marginally ahead of Enthiran.^[7] In addition, an estimated 55 crore (US$11.15 million) was spent on marketing, which set the record for largest marketing budget in India. The film faced multiple problems prior to it's release, including censorship, soundtrack "leaks" and copyrights, the latter of which cost the producers 1 crore (US$202,800). 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.

Prior to its worldwide release, Ra.One had multiple premieres in Dubai, London and Torontoduring the period of October 24 - 26.^[8] The film released across 3,100 screens in India and 904 prints overseas in both 2D and 3D,^[9] and was also dubbed in Tamil and Telugu,^[10] 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,^[11] and a week later, a super hit overseas, however was termed "average" by trade pundits.^[12] The film has been widely praised for it's 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.^[13]