Who says dreams cannot be realized? All it takes is a strong will to turn a dream into reality! For some, it may take an entire lifetime to actualize a dream while others live a life which is a dream in itself. SRK's Tinseltown dream refuses to die down, and on the contrary becomes more grandiloquent with time. He had come to the city of dreams a couple of decades back as a pauper with only one thing in his kitty, the only thing that mattered: self-belief. It is said that life, unlike death, is a trickster and only those who have the heart of a lion and the mind of a fox can survive its onslaught. And those who do manage to come out victorious become its true masters and make it dance to their tunes, perpetually. Today, 'SRK' is not merely a name; it's a brand, a marketing phenomenon in itself. SRK's perennial charm is a testament to his grit and gumption. RA.One is a walking talking example of SRK's sway in Show Business. Who else could think of making such a bizarre manifestation work in his favor, but the Baazigar himself? Now, please don't get me wrong, I am not saying that RA.One is bizarre in cinematic parlance, but given the general trend in Indian cinema that the concept of the movie seems futuristic. When it comes to entertainment, we Indians are still not very comfortable with experimentation. The romance of Raj-Simran, the razzmatazz of Munni-Shiela, and the Desi villainy of Gabbar-Shakaal is still dearer to us than the clairvoyance or daredevilry of some larger than life super hero. Despite all the odds, SRK endorsed the idea of manifesting a virtual world superhero on the celluloid, putting everything at stake, including his hard-earned reputation of an entertainer par-excellence. Will the gamble pay off? Well, that is for the time to decide! All I can say at this point of time is that RA.One has all the makings of a Blockbuster—already being opened to packed theaters on the Diwali Day—as everything seems so conducive: an interesting plot, great cast, festive season, and blessings of Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth.
RA.One is a technical marvel and has set a new bar for Indian Cinema. The movie's CGI and special-effects are absolutely top-notch and are undoubtedly its USP. It projects the concept of gaming and virtual world for the first time in Indian Cinema. The one movie that it would often be compared with is Tron Legacy. However, apart from some similarities in the plot, RA.One is quite different, primarily because of its emotional perspective and relative simplicity in concept. RA.One re-stylizes the epic battle of 'Good' versus 'Evil' by adding to it certain dimensions that are still new to Indian Cinema. RA.One is pure entertainment from beginning till end. Despite being a Science Fiction, RA.One manages to portray with precision the pain associated with the Father-Son relationship. RA.One, despite taking obvious inspiration from avant-garde Sci-Fi movies like The Matrix, manages to maintain a certain level of originality, credit for which goes to director Anubhav Sinha. The movie has subtle undercurrents of humor—like in the names of three female antagonists, 'Iski Lee', 'Uski Lee' and 'Sabki Lee'—that add great flavor to the movie.
SRK shines in his new South Indian avatar, Shekhar Subramanium, who is similar to real life SRK in many ways: he shares SRK's sense of light- heartedness and childlike demeanor – albeit without the characteristic cheekiness. The plot of RA.One is based on the premise that children tend to have a stronger liking for villains than heroes, for villains are kick-ass and can afford to flout rules and defy limits. Shekhar works as a video game developer for Barron Industries. He is disconcerted by his son's lack of respect for him. In order to impress his son, he devises a game in which the villain is stronger than the hero. He names the game as RA.One , same as the name of the villain. The hero, who inherits Shekhar's looks, is named G.One. Due to some unforeseen effect of an artificial intelligence program developed at Barron Industries, RA.One immensely gains in power and develops a sense of self-control that defies the game's protocols. What ensues is a 'do or die' battle between the two 'Ones' in the Real World, the outcome of which would decide the fate of humans in contention. Kareena Kapoor fits well in the shoes of a 'chammak challo' (glamorous) housewife and complements SRK effectively. Arjun Rampal as 'RA.One' is terribly underused in the movie. Armaan Verma, the child actor who plays SRK's son, acts his part with amazing conviction.
Despite the elaborate efforts of the makers to explain the implausible Sci-Fi elements, an average viewer is ought to be perplexed by its intricacies. It is for such instances in Fiction that English poet S. T Coleridge had introduced 'Suspension of Disbelief', according to which, a viewer or a reader takes a semi-conscious decision to put aside his disbelief in order to accept the premise for the sake of his own amusement.
The one aspect that I am critical of RA.One is that, like most contemporary movies, it too fails to make the viewer think. Cinema, with its enormous potential, can inspire even the greatest pessimist and help reshape a nation. Alas, it is reduced to a revenue generating instrument by a bunch of self-centered, myopic individuals, whose sole aim is monetary profit! It is said that those who have the courage also have the responsibility to bring about a change; someone of SRK's influence is not expected to overlook this growing aberration in commercial cinema, but unfortunately he too is following the suite.
Overall, RA.One, despite its obvious shortcomings, is a great piece of entertainment and a worthy addition to the commercial Indian cinema mix. RA.One is an instant hit among children of all age-groups, while also an interesting experience for the adults. 7/10
http://www.apotpourriofvestiges.com/
RA.One is a technical marvel and has set a new bar for Indian Cinema. The movie's CGI and special-effects are absolutely top-notch and are undoubtedly its USP. It projects the concept of gaming and virtual world for the first time in Indian Cinema. The one movie that it would often be compared with is Tron Legacy. However, apart from some similarities in the plot, RA.One is quite different, primarily because of its emotional perspective and relative simplicity in concept. RA.One re-stylizes the epic battle of 'Good' versus 'Evil' by adding to it certain dimensions that are still new to Indian Cinema. RA.One is pure entertainment from beginning till end. Despite being a Science Fiction, RA.One manages to portray with precision the pain associated with the Father-Son relationship. RA.One, despite taking obvious inspiration from avant-garde Sci-Fi movies like The Matrix, manages to maintain a certain level of originality, credit for which goes to director Anubhav Sinha. The movie has subtle undercurrents of humor—like in the names of three female antagonists, 'Iski Lee', 'Uski Lee' and 'Sabki Lee'—that add great flavor to the movie.
SRK shines in his new South Indian avatar, Shekhar Subramanium, who is similar to real life SRK in many ways: he shares SRK's sense of light- heartedness and childlike demeanor – albeit without the characteristic cheekiness. The plot of RA.One is based on the premise that children tend to have a stronger liking for villains than heroes, for villains are kick-ass and can afford to flout rules and defy limits. Shekhar works as a video game developer for Barron Industries. He is disconcerted by his son's lack of respect for him. In order to impress his son, he devises a game in which the villain is stronger than the hero. He names the game as RA.One , same as the name of the villain. The hero, who inherits Shekhar's looks, is named G.One. Due to some unforeseen effect of an artificial intelligence program developed at Barron Industries, RA.One immensely gains in power and develops a sense of self-control that defies the game's protocols. What ensues is a 'do or die' battle between the two 'Ones' in the Real World, the outcome of which would decide the fate of humans in contention. Kareena Kapoor fits well in the shoes of a 'chammak challo' (glamorous) housewife and complements SRK effectively. Arjun Rampal as 'RA.One' is terribly underused in the movie. Armaan Verma, the child actor who plays SRK's son, acts his part with amazing conviction.
Despite the elaborate efforts of the makers to explain the implausible Sci-Fi elements, an average viewer is ought to be perplexed by its intricacies. It is for such instances in Fiction that English poet S. T Coleridge had introduced 'Suspension of Disbelief', according to which, a viewer or a reader takes a semi-conscious decision to put aside his disbelief in order to accept the premise for the sake of his own amusement.
The one aspect that I am critical of RA.One is that, like most contemporary movies, it too fails to make the viewer think. Cinema, with its enormous potential, can inspire even the greatest pessimist and help reshape a nation. Alas, it is reduced to a revenue generating instrument by a bunch of self-centered, myopic individuals, whose sole aim is monetary profit! It is said that those who have the courage also have the responsibility to bring about a change; someone of SRK's influence is not expected to overlook this growing aberration in commercial cinema, but unfortunately he too is following the suite.
Overall, RA.One, despite its obvious shortcomings, is a great piece of entertainment and a worthy addition to the commercial Indian cinema mix. RA.One is an instant hit among children of all age-groups, while also an interesting experience for the adults. 7/10
http://www.apotpourriofvestiges.com/