Dubai: In what could be the best Diwali gift for Dubai, Bollywood heavyweight and on-screen superhero Shah Rukh Khan and his RA.One entourage swept the city off its feet when they brought the film here for its world premiere yesterday.
Calling his film technically slick, Khan said he believes his bold film will mean Indian superheroes can stand tall among their more famous Western counterparts.
"To imagine the unimagined was what we did. With this film, we are taking strides technologically and creating an Indian superhero … Our superhero is real cool, and our super-villain is way cooler — you better take two jackets when you come to watch this film," said Khan at a press conference before his red carpet appearance at Grand Cineplex. He was accompanied by his co-stars Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Shahana Goswami and child actor Armaan Verma as well as director Anubhav Sinha.
Thousands of fans waited behind metal barricades for hours amid heavy security at the cinema to catch a glimpse of the stars, and their patiences was repaid, with Khan and Rampal walking either side of the barricades to say hello to fans and shake hands. Kapoor, surrounded by a human chain of bodyguards, went directly into the theatre, where the film was screened for the first time — neither Rampal nor Kapoor had watched it. "I have worked with Shah Rukh after a gap of 10 years, so I'm very excited to see the film on the screen," said Kapoor.
"He looks better in the flesh," said 18-year-old fan Prince Roy of Khan. "He's my biggest superhero and this was the best experience ever."
Billed as Bollywood's most expensive science-fiction film, with a budget of over $20 million, Khan said that this film would serve as a benchmark for super hero films, a rare commodity in Bollywood.
Unimaginable stunts
"For Resul [Pookutty, Oscar-winning sound technician] to create sounds for a super hero is difficult and for a director it is tough to conceive a love scene in a superhero film that is not typical. Arjun [Rampal] and myself had to be in costumes, do unimaginable physical stunts … a little more than what you do for a normal Hindi film."
The film will release in as many as 5,000 screens around the world.
When asked if his super hero avatar G.One would tackle larger issues such as global warming instead of just helping damsels in distress, Khan said his character would bode well with the Indian sub-continent reality. "Indian fantasies are small — their dream is to look after your family."
The film also features Bollywood blue-blood Kapoor, who is one of the few actresses who has worked with all the leading Khans in Bollywood, including Aamir and Salman.
"I think they are all tigers in their own right. Of course Shah Rukh is the baadshah [emperor] of Indian cinema. There's no doubt," said Kapoor when asked who was her favourite Khan.
Meanwhile, Rampal, who plays the film’s namesake villain said that it was Khan’s passion and director Sinha’s vision that propelled him to play a bad guy.
“Shah Rukh believes that I make bad look good,” said Rampal.
