Thursday 27 October 2011

RA - One

2011 by Anubhav Sinha - Hindi movie

It has been really long that I have tried to watch a Bollywood movie on the very first day. I would not even try to watch it unless its special. But for my wife, I had to book for RA- One. I had watched Rab ne Bana di Jodi too, only for her, in theatre. Normally I would not have. I do not like Sharukh as an actor, even if he is very sincere with his over acting. Nor do I consider him as a great box office sure bet. If yes, Swadesh, his very best movie yet, would have been a big success. I did like his Dilwale Dulhaniya..., Yes Boss and Chak De, which were good entertainers. Because of all the hype around RA- One and also because of the news that Sharukh wanted to make something even better than Enthiran, I did think this would not be a real disappointment. But I am afraid, this might be his worst movie ever. Compared to this movie, if any one dares to term his My Name is Khan as a classic, I will not blame him.

Like Amir Khan, Sharukh too seems to be obsessed in earning the credit of the western world. Most of the techinicians behind this movie are from Hollywood. And even the story, characters, moments, settings everything are in bits and parts taken from previous Hollywood sci-fi hits. And as always in Bollwood, half of the movie takes place in London. Still, inspite of being a Sci-fi one, the plot and the script fails to create a story logic, fit enough for a fantasy entertainer at least, is one of the major reasons why this movie disappoints.

The first 40 or 45 minutes of this movie is nearly a punishment. It is like watching any run of the mill Bollywood flick. Terrible experience. It gets slightly better after that, but nothing as to keep us engaged without wondering about the absurdity on the screen. Even the highly money absorbed special effects and visual effects are not consistent through out. They are really good for certain scenes, but there are at least few where it looks just allright. This is true even for the rest of the production values. There is a sheer lack of consistency. Even the huge amount of grains on the silver screen was an unpleasant surprise for such a huge movie. Add to it that the real encounters between the two game heroes, RA One and G One, is not that excellent or mind blowing for this kind of a movie. Especially the final end, to the super villain, is too poor to make any kind of excitement or adrenaline rush, forget any WOW feelings.

And the ways in which the writers have tried to evoke some laughter is pathetic, absolutely pathetic. I wonder what the western audience will think about Indian cinema, watching this highly promoted movie.

Stupid characterisation,(I will not be surprised if some South Indian critics will criticize the writers for making a clown of a South Indian character), which is epitomised by a widow who easily goes into a party dance few days after losing her husband and a school child who yearns for a super villain!!! And terrible performances as well. Even Sharukh Khan, who normally overacts just enough for us to not to laugh at him, doubles it out. This is definitely his worst. Only Arjun Rampal keeps calm, but he doesnt have anything to emote.

If Sharukh wanted to make the biggest modernised movie in India, with lots of production values, Special and Visual effects and all CG, then I am sure he has not even managed to reach the excellent levels set by Enthiran or Magadheera, both of which were also much better entertainers in all ways.

It is said, Sharukh pumped in more money and effort to this movie, after watching Enthiran. Obviously he wanted something better than a regional language movie. I cannot imagine, what would this movie have been, if it was completed before Enthiran