RA.One: Shah Rukh's tryst with technology

New Delhi: Shah Rukh Khan has left no stone unturned to make his mega project - RA.One - a successful venture. Shah Rukh is making the best of use of technology, in a way Bollywood has never witnessed before.

Being a science fiction movie RA.One, technology has played a crucial role in the making. According to Keitan Yadav, chief operating office, redchillies.vfx, "There is no software or technique in the industry that we have not used for this film. For 3D, we have used software like Maya, Houdini and Macs. For composites, we have made use of Nuke and Shake. Further, we have also written our own programs."

Ra.One will take Bollywood technology to the world said Shah Rukh in an interview. SRK hopes to set a benchmark in Indian cinema in terms of technical refinement.

Ra.One will have both 2D and 3D release. Anubhav Sinha, the director of the movie, is coordinating with technicians through high-end video conferencing technology - Cinesynch - to ensure that everything goes according to the plan. "We show our work virtually and review each others' clips. It is a virtual meeting takes place every alternate day, which starts around 9.30 pm at night and goes till 4.30-5 am in the morning," said Sinha.

The superhero film RA.One is reported to have around 3,500 VFX (visual effects) shots. This is said to have even outstripped Hollywood blockbuster James Cameron's Avatar that had around 2,700 VFX shots.

Not only in the making, but Shah Rukh has been making the full use of technology in the film's promotion. In addition to the ritual presence at various TV shows and newspaper interviews, King Khan also reached out to the Internet audience in a big way. RA.one is the first film in India to make use of Near Field Communications (NFC) technology on the new range of Nokia's new smartphones - Nokia 700 and Nokia 701. The company has set up RA.one zones at over 400 Nokia Priority Partner outlets and select multiplexes across the country. Consumers who buy a Symbian Belle smartphone can get exclusive content from the film such as images, applications, games, on-set exclusives and movie promos by just tapping their devices on RA.One NFC tags.

Also, SRK's Red Chillies Entertainment launched the first low budget movie-branded tablet called 'G.One Tablet'. The tablet features 7-inch touchscreen LCD display, 800MHz processor, Google's Android 2.2 operating system, supports Flash Player and 3G connectivity, and much more. The tablet has been priced at about Rs 8,500.

Shah Rukh also used Google Plus Hangout feature to have video chat with fans across the globe. He also launched a custom built movie channel on YouTube. The RA.One channel on YouTube offers users a one-stop destination for all promotional video content and special extras for RA.One.

Traditionally, Bollywood movies relied on posters, interviews and mega music launches for publicity. But, SRK has gone a step ahead and launched a full fledged video game version of the movie to be played on Sony PlayStation and also online. There's also a Ra.One digital comic book, a first of its kind for a Bollywood movie.

Moreover, Red Chillies Entertainment has also partnered with top technology brands like Google, Nokia, NVIDIA, and Indiagames, to promote RA.One, digitally.

RA.One could very well set the benchmark for digital innovation and use of technology in movie marketing for Bollywood. If the movie turns to be the success that Shah Rukh Khan hopes it to be, get set for a Bollywood digital onslaught.