What is Raaka's '37'? Allu Arjun film with Shah Rukh Khan teases mocap on Atlee's 40th birthday
Sun Pictures tagged its new poster #Mocap, promising a reveal on Atlee's 40th birthday
Dubai: Sun Pictures has spent five days teasing a number, and today it finally told fans what the number is for. Sort of.
The studio behind Raaka, the Allu Arjun and Deepika Padukone film directed by Atlee, posted a new poster on Monday reading "37, 1 record, and that made history!", with the line "watch this space this evening" beneath it. The caption was simply "Stay tuned", tagged #Raaka and #Mocap.
Monday is Atlee's 40th birthday.
Where the 37 started
The number first appeared on 17 September, when Sun Pictures dropped a poster showing nothing but "37" against a dark, smoky background, with Raaka written in gold beneath it. There was no caption and no explanation.
Fans quickly settled on a theory: 3 multiplied by 7 is 21, and Atlee was born on 21 September. The makers never confirmed it, but they did not need to. A day later came a 16-second clip captioned "Get ready to witness a global triumph!", with the words "beyond what seemed possible" across a fire-lit backdrop.
What today's poster adds
Monday's poster changes the meaning of the number. It is no longer just a date code. It now refers to a record, and the #Mocap tag points to motion capture, the technique used to record actors' movements and turn them into digital characters.
What exactly the 37 counts has not been officially spelled out. Posts circulating on X claim it refers to 37 motion capture performers used in a single scene, but that has not been confirmed by the studio.
The film's official account added to the build-up with its own post calling it "update day", promising a look at "what we dared to achieve".
What fans are expecting
Reports in the Indian trade press have pointed to a first glimpse or a making-of video arriving around Atlee's birthday. One report suggests the glimpse was originally planned for Allu Arjun's birthday in April, but the team held it back to keep working on the visuals.
Not everyone is promising fireworks. Trade handle Filmy Bowl, which described the release as an introduction to the world of Raaka, added a note to fans: "Do not expect too much."
About Raaka
Raaka is Atlee's first film since Jawan with Shah Rukh Khan, and Allu Arjun's first since the Pushpa films. Produced by Sun Pictures, it is a science fiction action film built heavily on visual effects, with the team visiting VFX studios in Los Angeles during development.
The title and first look were revealed on Allu Arjun's birthday, 8 April, showing him with a shaved head and a creature's clawed hand.
Deepika Padukone, who welcomed her second daughter on Saturday, filmed Raaka deep into her third trimester, reportedly shooting night schedules and action sequences to wrap her portions before her maternity break.
No release date has been confirmed, with reports pointing variously to late 2027 and beyond.
