Shah Rukh Khan is undoubtedly a superstar here in India. But does a superstar need a legacy to prove his stardom? I’m a little unclear on that. With Ra.One hitting the screens, I am left with zillions of questions. Does he always need a karva chauth scene, a Kuch Kuch Hota Hai track in the background, a scene with him throwing his arms wide open? Does he? Can he not make a good film without any of these? Will I ever watch Ra.One again? Is it the same SRK whose movies I have watched over a 100 times (yes, that’s true)? Is it the same SRK who proved his detractors wrong now proving them right? Somebody stop these questions… Please..

 

I grew up watching SRK romance his heroines. I grew up loving him. I grew up cutting a cake for his birthday rather than mine. Hence, you know, I simply loved him. I had to watch Ra.One the day it released and somehow I now feel let down. As he rightly says in the movie, every girl does love him but SRK I guess you need to go beyond just expressing that achievement. I now wonder if every girl still loves him? If I were a kid and I saw Ra.One, I would say, ‘SRK – Seriously’. However, I have seen a mature, charming and impressive SRK earlier and choose to retain that memory.

The first thought that hit me when I saw the opening scene was what the hell was SRK thinking when he gave this film to Anubhav Sinha? Man, let him live with his Tum Bin fame rather than Ra.One. Horrible. Did the sequence even make the difference to the film? I wonder. Yes, the guest actors probably made the audience whistle. Nothing beyond that, I’m sure. Let me tell you, this is first film where I did not cheer for SRK when he came on screen. He didn’t deserve it at all!!

 

As the story progressed, I was eagerly waiting for the intermission. Saying ‘aiyyo’ at every instance, asking for coffee, having a preference to curd and not opting for the spoon & fork while eating, does NOT make you a South Indian. Well, SRK probably had to research a bit more there. His lead character plays a Tamilian, who loves to eat his pasta (or noodles) with curd and has a fairly okay Tamilian accent. However, he speaks Kannada occasionally. Mind you, that’s only because he doesn’t realize that it’s Kannada. For him it’s still Tamil.. That is the amount of research that has been put into the film. ‘Idli illa Saar’ is Kannada Mr. SRK and not Tamil. Please, for the sake of your audience, do your homework. I know the attempt was to make the character loveable and cute. But, hey, hell no.. It was nowhere close to it. As far as Kareena’s role goes, it again seemed like a misfit. The first half was a debacle in terms of the story line. All the while, however, I must say, the SFX were good. It’s surely a movie that’s worth watching for it’s SFX.

Post interval, I had my moment of orgasm. There is probably just one person who could make me forget how pathetic the movie was. And that had to be the one and only Superstar Rajinikanth. Yes, the audience went crazy and so did I. My father, a man in his 60s, screamed out loud with the slightest hint that the man who would be seen on the screen soon was our Padayappa! Such is the greatness of that man. Well, I’m humbled that Kareena folds her hand in respect to him and another featured cast calls him ‘Kadavule’. Well, he is what he is and yes, SRK needed him to reduce the damage.

 

Arjun Rampal seemed gay at times. Well, I have no opinions about his role. Actually, nothing in the film made me say, ‘wow’. There was probably just one other moment when I saw SRK clad in a white shirt, sporting black sun glasses that had me. Yes, that was somewhere close to the SRK who I am in love with. The kid, played by Armaan Verma was impressive. Satish Shah’s role was just too humiliating for a South Indian. Having a thick moustache does not make you a part of the clan. Again, I wish, the director had paid more attention on detailing.

 

I expected a big showdown at the end. The build up to the end with a set that reminded me of ‘Sucker Punch’, somehow was just futile. No fight. Nothing worth waiting for. Oh yes, there was something I liked. Consciously or unconsciously his body suit at the end turns into a Tetris inspired suit. Yippe!!! Other than that, the movie is probably below average.

 

Ra.One’s +s

Good SFX.

Reasonably okay songs (though their placements made me question if we were still stuck in the 90s)

Good performance by Armaan Verma

Superstar Rajni’s cameo

 

Ra.One’s –s

Storyline (Wait, was there a story?) & screenplay

Poor performances

Forced fit humour

Pathetic direction

Lack of detailing

 

If you are in Bangalore, then watch it only at Cinepolis. You might enjoy the 3D. Else, it’s your call.