“Ra.One, a step ahead for Bollywood”

Shah Rukh Khan

The message of the Shah Rukh Khan film in the making is that “one should be careful before one makes a wish”

Hindi film industry is in for some bleak times. That is the prophecy of Bollywood idol Shah Rukh Khan who says over the next 10 years the audiences would not be eager to watch Hindi films.

Speaking on the sidelines of the audio release function of his sci-fi movie Ra.One, Mr. Khan said, “French, Polish, German and Italian cinema are already facing this situation as they have lost space to Hollywood. I am not taking on Hollywood. I want to ensure Indian kids and youngsters keep watching Indian films in future. My son doesn’t find me cool enough. We cannot just keep talking about an Indian imprint. We have to ensure that the Indian kids are proud of Indian culture. Inception was a huge hit in the country.”

Mr. Khan, who is playing the character of the superhero called G.One in the film, asked why is it that every time the earth is in danger, an American superhero has to come to save us? “When I was a kid, I was a huge fan of ‘Bahadur’ comics. Why can’t we have our own heroes? Our mythology is full of superheroes.”

He said the film represented the new age evil. “We thought, in this age if a villain has to come, it will have to be through technology. So Ra.One is an embodiment of the 10 worst thoughts in this digital age. But the message is that one should be careful before one makes a wish.”

It was literally a “Chhammak Chhalo” night in Mumbai’s Filmcity as the music of the much-awaited Diwali release was unveiled. It was released with the kind of razzmatazz no longer seen in Bollywood’s music release functions and the highlight was the “Chhammak Chhalo” song sung by international hip-hop star Akon. “My son is a fan of his. I was surprised that he managed to sing the Hindi song with three hours of practice. This speaks volumes of the sheer size of the Indian audience. Everyone wants to woo them,” he said.

Asked about the criticism that he pressed the same buttons as an actor, Mr. Khan said, “Germans say every time I press some buttons, Indians cry! But the bigger challenge in Ra.One was physical. It was difficult to even breathe in the superhero suit.”

But the promotional campaign is highlighting the emotional content. Is he playing safe? “See at one level it is an Aziz Mirza kind of film. A hero, a villain and mother and kid trapped in between…sweet! But when it breaks into action it matches the best in the world. It may or may not work but it is definitely a step ahead for Bollywood.”

“You can’t control emotions, you can’t control storytelling but you can control technology. It is one thing where we could be at par with the world. I told my team — make a superhero film and make it count. There was a small company called H2O and I bought it for almost nothing. For six years the team worked on the films that I produced. And Ra.One is the team’s big chance to prove its worth. For long our technicians have been contributing to Hollywood projects in a small way. Now it is time we give them a chance to create something big. Also, why should only small producers of offbeat films take chances, why should only producers who raise money on the Internet take a chance. I feel top producers should lead the way.”

One of the most expensive films in the industry, it is going to be released both in 2D and 3D. Versions dubbed in Tamil and Telugu will be released simultaneously. Mr. Khan said, “The film pays tributes to Rajini sir in one of the sequences.” Interestingly, Mr. Khan was the first choice of director Shankar for Robot but he opted out of the project after some creative differences.

Denying that he needed any controversy to create a hype around the film, Mr. Khan requested cinegoers to watch the film “with a clean heart as it has been made with a clean heart. For long we have had mother and son dramas. This time we have a film which is all about father and son.”