SRK’s Leap of faith

Khan added that Ra.One is not one of those usual sci-fi films. “It’s a classic blue-eyed superhero film with heart and the battle of good and evil. It is overall a family entertainer,” said Khan,who will bring to life an idea that has been with him since childhood,of a father-son relationship,of super powers,of someone his children can look up to.

It’s a film which according to him will raise the bar of filmmaking for younger audiences and aspiring filmmakers too. But Khan is not only focused on entertainment. He also talked about laying emphasis on the story. “When the audience leave the theatre,there should be something more than an empty bag of popcorn with them. I have made an effort to do films that have an undercurrent of a message. If Om Shanti Om was about hope,My Name is Khan rose above religion. If Chak De and Paheli were about women empowerment and the right to choose,then Main Hoon Na was about love,” said Khan. But Ra.One is modelled on the classic good versus bad. “It is based on the popular Hindu mythological concept of 10 evil heads of Ravana,of how we are all born the same way and it’s the choices we make that make us good or bad. It’s also about the positive character of G.One,which denotes life,” Khan explained.

But why name the film after the villain? “More than the superhero,I’m excited to see the bad guy,the Joker in Batman for instance or Mogambo in Mr India. Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra did tell me to change it to G.One,but you see,evil has no face,and we are what we choose to be,” he laughs.

Even though the promo bears traces of Hollywood’s computer generated villains,the film looks gripping,with a robotic SRK scaling walls and leaping across bridges and a surprised and anxious Kareena Kapoor along with a curious child. Backing this sequence is a musical score,which is unmistakeably late music director RD Burman’s signature tune. “I’m a huge RD Burman fan,and even though Ra.One falls in the western genre,I wanted to give it an Indianness,” says Khan.

“There is no blood or gore,and because not many women like action films,song and drama and emotion was packed in. “What do you think Kareena is doing,” he winks.

On a serious note,he adds,“I am a filmmaker of sorts,and as much as I sound pompous or may joke,every offering I do is with humility. Ra.One is a new kind of cinema,and it’s the duty of every filmmaker to tell his audience what the film is about.”

The film is not a Krissh or a Drona. For Khan,Ra.One is a leap of faith and a film that says,“be careful for what you wish for.” While he has his hands full with this project,he expresses his desire to work in a rom-com,next.