I got the idea for RA.One six years ago
while watching TV and I wasn’t able to
sleep till I wrote the script. I just knew
it was going to be really special and
unique. I also knew it wasa dream that
would take a long time to materialise.
And from the moment I thought of the
film, I knew there was only one guy
who could produce it and that was
Shah Rukh Khan. He agreed to do the
film. We also both believed that
anything as special as this would
takemore money than usual.
A project like RA.One requires a lotof
patience and mental stability. But, at
times, there was a sense of insecurity
that other directors who are my friends
had not only finished one, but two to
three films and I was still completing
mine. RA.One has been in the making
for four years, including pre-
production, shooting, post-production
etc. But there was so much work to be
done that it felt like only two years.
I have definitely aged while doing this
film but in a good way. Had I enrolled
with an animation and special effects
class to learn these techniques, it
would have taken five years to
completely understand the nitty-gritty
of every aspect. But while working on
the film, it took me only three years to
do so.
Today, I am technologically much more
advanced then I was years ago, and if I
were to make another film with
special effects, it would not be all that
difficult. This film has helped me
matureas a person and my hair has
turned grey.
But the film has also taught me to
bepatient and calm. There were
18,000 departments we were working
on, day in and day out. You had to deal
with them, read what they were
saying.
Yet, never once the thought of giving
up onthe project or starting something
else alongside it, like a small film, cross
my mind. It was impossible to think
that a project with SRK could remain
incomplete. I simply couldn’t think of
writing anything else. People now
assume that since the film is
approaching its release most of the
work is done but I know how much is
still left!In fact, I have forgotten what a
vacationmeans! Not my son, though.
When we were shooting in London, he
came over to spend time with me. He
knew his dad was working on a film
that would be releasing in 2011.
This was a dream I wanted to fulfill, so
I know I took the right decision to g
owith the film and stay with it. It is not
appropriate to compare any film with
Mughal-E-Azam, just because of the
length of time the film took to be
made. Similarly, no one can be
compared with Amitabh Bachchan.
There were rumours that there were
three directors on RA.One as it was
taking a long time. But that is not true.
Karan Johar did shoot for the film for
aday and a half, which would amount
to aminute on screen. On that day, we
had two units and I was supposed to
shuffle.
But, luckily, we had the luxury of
having Karan Johar there. So I asked
him if he would do it. If he wasn’t
there, I would have had to juggle
between the two units or else Shah
Rukh would have had to direct and act
as well. But that doesn’t take anything
away from me. People who spread
such nasty rumours don’t understand
the magnitude of the film.
Ra.One is a mammoth project – the
biggest film coming out of India.
Fromthe time I conceived the film to
the present, there are two things that
cometo mind. One is a feeling of
emptiness– when the film was being
made, there were so many things to
get done to put the film together…
shoot it, get the detailing right etc etc.
The second thingis now that I realise
how big the film is, I know just how
fortunate I am to be making a film like
this.
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