It's a mind-boggling sequence. G.One (Shah Rukh Khan) leaps from one train bogie to another and the gothic structure of Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) crumbles as the train ploughs through it. The long-drawn battle between Ra.One and G.One begins in the virtual gaming arena. The fight-till-death sequence in the superhero film “Ra.One” was noticed for the world-class visual effects. “We had to recreate the CST virtually for the shot,” says Samar Khan, who heads the television division at Red Chillies Entertainment.
The making of Shah Rukh Khan's superhero film “Ra.One”, considered India's biggest VFX film, will be decoded in an one-hour episode titled “Revealed: The Making of ‘Ra.One'” on Discovery Tamil. The film won recognition at the 59th National Awards for ‘Best Special Effects'.
A virtual world
The programme, produced by Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment in association with Discovery Channel Tamil, takes the audience through the cutting-edge VFX technology that went into the making of one of India's most ambitious science fiction films. “People enjoyed the film, but didn't pay attention to the technology. An episode like this will help viewers learn about the technology behind ‘Ra.One'. It will simultaneously help them connect it to the scenes from the film,” adds Samar, director of the episode.
The episode talks about the various aspects and challenges of filming the movie — all the 3,500-plus VFX shots had to be released on time, and so, a 5,000-strong team from India, the U.K. and the U.S., including 400 at Red Chillies VFX, worked in shifts in 14 studios across the world. The film is also one of the first to use Dolby 7.1 surround sound.
Samar says seven to eight sequences in the film are completely VFX driven — the car chase in London, the mid-air car fight, the climax, encounters between G.One and Ra.One… The episode also introduces the audience to ‘time slice' technology, used in the sequences where the protagonist and antagonist fight mid-air, and in the highly-stylised car chase, among others.
New software was developed for designing and creating the antagonist's face (Ra.One). Did you know that the sequence where Ra.One comes back to life through cube formation and takes the form of actor Arjun Rampal took over a year to produce?
Samar says that considering many films in the South are VFX driven, the Tamil episode will help reach out to more people. “Films of stars such as Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan are VFX-heavy,” he explains. “Usually, ‘making of a film' episodes talk about dance sequences, songs and action, and exotic locales. This one takes the viewer through the technology used for every sequence in the film.”
The entire film was a challenge, says Samar. And, the team put in more than two-and-half years of work to make it a reality. “The amount of VFX that has gone in the making of ‘Ra.One' is phenomenal. In an average Hollywood film, there are 800 shots. Ra.One had three times more.”
Says Rahul Johri, senior vice president and general manger — South Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific: “The programme will take viewers on a cinematic journey and captivate them with details about unique filming techniques.”
The show premieres on Discovery Channel Tamil on March 30 at 8 p.m., with a repeat telecast on April 1 at 8 p.m.
Decoding Ra.One
The programme gives an overview of the process behind designing separate software for the characters and the objects. Designed by experts Robert Kurtzman and Tim Flattery, the superhero suits were enhanced digitally to ensure that when electricity passed through the suits, it looked real.
Some of the challenging shots include the collapse of the miniature CST and the elaborate cloning process to create the 10 avatars of Ra.One…
