Ra.One

Ra.One
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAnubhav Sinha
Screenplay by
Dialogues by
Story byAnubhav Sinha
Produced byGauri Khan
Starring
Cinematography
Edited by
Music byVishal–Shekhar
Production
company
Distributed byEros International
Release dates
  • 24 October 2011 (2011-10-24) (Dubai)
  • 26 October 2011 (2011-10-26) (India)
Running time
156 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹100–150 crore[a]
Box officeest. ₹207 crore[7][8]

Ra.One is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language superhero film directed by Anubhav Sinha and produced by Gauri Khan under Red Chillies Entertainment. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan in a dual role and Arjun Rampal as the titular antagonist, with Kareena Kapoor, Armaan Verma, Shahana Goswami, Tom Wu, Dalip Tahil and Satish Shah in supporting roles. In the film, Ra. One, a video game antagonist, escapes from the virtual world and arrives in the real world to hunt down Lucifer, the ID of Ra. One's creator Shekhar Subramaniam's son Prateek, as he had defeated Ra. One in a game. Shekhar gets killed by Ra. One, but Prateek resurrects G. One, the video game protagonist and Shekhar's lookalike, to defeat Ra. One and protect him and his family.

Principal photography began in March 2010 and took place in India and the United Kingdom and was overseen by an international crew. The post-production involved 3-D conversion and the application of visual effects, the latter being recognised as a technological breakthrough among Indian films. With a budget of ₹150 crore (equivalent to ₹309 crore or US$37 million in 2023),[9] inclusive of publicity costs, Ra.One was the most expensive Indian film at the time of release, surpassing the ₹132 crore (equivalent to ₹296 crore or US$35 million in 2023) budget of Enthiran (2010). The producers spent ₹130 crore (equivalent to ₹268 crore or US$32 million in 2023), including a ₹52 crore (equivalent to ₹107 crore or US$13 million in 2023) marketing budget, which involved a nine-month publicity campaign, brand tie-ups, merchandise, video games and viral marketing.

The film faced controversies involving plagiarism, content leaks and copyright challenges. Ra.One was theatrically released on 24 October 2011, the beginning of the five-day Diwali weekend, in 2D, 3D and dubbed versions in Tamil and Telugu languages with three international premieres being held between 24 October 2011 and 26 October 2011.[10] The film witnessed the largest international theatrical release for an Indian film as of 2011 and was preceded by high audience and commercial expectations.

Upon release, Ra.One earned praise for the VFX, action sequences, direction, music and the performances of Khan and Rampal, but criticism for the script. The film became the third highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2011 domestically, the second highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2011 worldwide, and broke a number of opening box office records. The film also earned more than ₹207 crores worldwide but against a huge budget of ₹150 crores, it was commercial failure.[11] It subsequently won a number of awards for its technical aspects, notably one National Film Award, one Filmfare Award and four International Indian Film Academy Awards. While initially mixed around its time of release, the film's reception has improved over the years.[12][13][14]

  1. ^ "RA.ONE (12A) – British Board of Film Classification". 26 October 2011. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  2. ^ "'SRK Did It First' Fans Dig Up Old Interview To Compare VFX In 'Ra.One' & 'Brahmastra'". MensXP. 13 September 2022. Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  3. ^ "The big bet on Ra.One". The Financial Express. 30 March 2011. Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Ra.One director: Will give both arms and legs to work with Shah Rukh Khan again". India Today. 9 June 2019. Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Ra. One – A 150 crores affair? The real picture". Bollywood Hungama. 12 April 2011. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  6. ^ "SRK goes larger than life with RA.One". NDTV. Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference boi-ra-one was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference moneycontrol was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Despite Rs 170cr income, RA.One not a hit?". 2 November 2011. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  10. ^ "How Shah Rukh Khan's Ra.One Will Recover Rs. 150 Crore". Koimoi. 19 September 2011. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Ra.One - Movie". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Anubhav Sinha believes Ra.One was 'harshly judged' when it released, says people now call it 'ahead of its time'". Indian Express. June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Anubhav Sinha reacts to Ra.One being called a film 'ahead of its times'; says, "I am a big believer of how long a film lives determines its legacy"". Bollywood Hungama. June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Anubhav Sinha reacts to Shah Rukh Khan starrer Ra.One being called ahead of its time after 12 years". Times of India. June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.


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