Behind the Scenes

It has been touted as one of India’s most expensive science-fiction films which boasted of world-class visual effects and animation wizardry. And now,Discovery Channel will provide access to various aspects of filming the movie in its special programme Revealed: The Making of Ra.One. Premiering on March 30,the programme will showcase some of the biggest challenges that Shah Rukh Khan and his team faced while working on the film — including the release of all 3,500 plus VFX shots. A team comprising 5,000 people from India,UK and the US,including 400 from Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment,VFX,worked in shifts in 14 studios across the world and was the first to use Dolby 7.1 technology. According to Khan,“The show will decode the path-breaking technology and never-seen-before concepts that were used to create Ra.One,giving viewers a chance to see the entire process from the closest distance possible.” The programme will delve into the designing of highly stylised action sequences,special-effects,the look of the characters,the sets and will explain the challenges faced by VFX team. Having the industry’s best from around the world,Ra.One boasts of footage of science in action,realistic imagery and pioneering techniques. Designed by experts Robert Kurtzman and Tim Flattery,the superhero suits were further enhanced digitally to create an impact of electricity passing through the suits,to look real. The challenges,ranged from the “time slicing” procedure to recreating a miniature version of Mumbai’s CST station collapse into rubble and elaborate cloning process to create the ten avatars of Ra.One. Designing of the antagonist’s face,a 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.