We might as well get the elephant in the room out of the way: Ra.One, the most expensive film in the history of Bollywood cinema (starring “India’s Tom Cruise” Shahrukh “King” Khan) is by no means an original movie. But you shouldn’t expect that the most expensive film in Indian cinema history (which, at a reported $39 million in filmmaking on a budget in America) to have an original story when a significant portion of Bollywood films are barely-disguised remakes of American movies anyway. But pointing out its unoriginal origins is not the same knock as one would make against the unending stream of Hollywood remakes; not only because at the very least Ra.One passed through a completely different cultural filter, but also because it’s clear director/co-writer Anubhav Sinha and his production team have done their damnedest to make its borrowed elements its own and worth the massive budget invested in it.
It’s on that level that makes it impossible not to appreciate Ra.One, but at the same time mixing elements of the best American action films of the last quarter century with the typical trademarks of Bollywood doesn’t produce a smooth cinema cocktail. As for its original parts, Ra.One tells us a story about London video game programmer Shekhar (Khan), a nerdy, awkward geek whose young son, Prateek (Armaan Verma), has little affection for. Shekhar decides to take his son’s obsession with villains (heck, Prateek uses the gaming name “Lucifer” – imagine what the Bible Belt would say about that) to create the video game Ra.One, featuring the titular unbeatable villain who is played by various actors. Shekhar bases the film’s handsome hero, G.One (also played by Khan), on himself in a bid to gain his son’s affections, but when the ultimate evil Ra.One escapes the game to destroy Prateek, it’s up to G.One to escape the game, too, to save the young boy. The entire film is accompanied by special effects that, while not Hollywood quality, are certainly more impressive than what you’d see in an American B-movie (and much cheaper, too!).
The homages to American action films are easily recognizable, with obvious winks to Tron, The Matrix, Spy Kids, the Iron Man movies, and Spider-Man 2 (there’s a way too familiar scene on a runaway train). There’s a high speed, high impact car chase that’s par for the course in most non-superhero Hollywood action films, and a recognizable national landmark destroyed to show you just how high the stakes are, as is the case in every Michael Bay film. But there’s no more obvious source for the story of the second half of Ra.One, than Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Now you can’t fault anyone for wanting to emulate what is arguably the greatest action movie of all time, but once G.One enters the film we’re treated to familiar scenes of an unstoppable artificial intelligence not only learning what it means to be human but becoming a father figure to a fatherless boy. Some of the scenes couldn’t be any more obvious ripoffs – there’s a “what’s 
wrong with your eyes?” scene, a scene in which the artificial intelligence goofily learns contemporary slang, a “no killing!” scene, and even one of the film’s climatic twists is straight out of the final scenes of Terminator 2. There’s also an “I’ll be back” quip, so it gets a bit distracting after a while, but if you’re going to copy, copy the best I guess.
What doesn’t work is the film’s awkward marriage between a Hollywood action film and Bollywood musical. As in many Bollywood films, the characters often break out into song-and-dance numbers in various music video montages. But since it’s clear that the filmmakers are doing their best to reach the widest possible audience, many of the songs are Western songs (including a curious cover of “Stand By Me” and two songs by American R&B artist Akon, which seem an odd fit for a Bollywood film (especially since one such musical scenes occurs during one of the character’s funerals!) There’s also a tremendous amount of slapstick humor that is inconsistent with the film’s Hollywood action sequences – including about half-dozen crotch hits. Apparently India enjoys watching people getting hit in the balls as much as regular viewers of America’s Funniest Home Videos do. There’s also a nonsensical cameo by Indian film icon Rajinikanth which adds nothing to the film except to say “look who’s appearing in our movie!” which isn’t uncommon for Bollywood films, but at least cameos in American action films are given some kind of significance.
In some ways it’s a shame that this movie, since it’s such an ambitious breakthrough for Bollywood, isn’t as strong or consistent as a breakthrough film should be. It’s a lot of fun if you’re a fan of Bollywood movies, or if you ever watched Terminator 2 and thought “You know what this film needs? More singing, dancing, and hits to the balls!” Otherwise Ra.One isn’t the film you’re looking for if you really enjoyed Slumdog Millionaire and want a “real” Indian film. It’s a huge accomplishment for Indian cinema, on and that level I can appreciate it – just not really recommend it.
Rating: As impressive of an accomplishment as it is, there isn’t much here that a Western audience will embrace. (6/10)
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