Anubhav Sinha says Ra.One is appreciated for its VFX now, trends often on Twitter: ‘It blossomed pretty late’

Anubhav Sinha’s Ra.One starring Shah Rukh Khan was an ambitious sci-fi project ahead of its time. Produced by Shah Rukh, the film also starred Arjun Rampal, Kareena Kapoor, Armaan Verma and Shahana Goswami. After its release on October 24, 2011, the film faced a mixed reception. But over the years, director Anubhav has felt that it has earned some respect for its visual effects. He notices that when other Indian VFX films are released now, Ra.One is also mentioned and the film begins to trend on Twitter. (Also read: Anubhav Sinha says Bheed has received so much love and adulation but there’s nobody in theatres)

Ra.One featured Shah Rukh as a game designer named Shekhar, who creates two powerful characters for his son. Ra.One (Arjun) becomes more powerful than the protagonist G.One (also Shah Rukh) and somehow escapes into the real world. Shekhar has to bring G.One out in order to take Ra.One on, once and for all. The film received the Filmfare and National Film Awards for Best Special Effects. The visual effects were done by Red Chillies VFX, which is owned by Shah Rukh and his wife Gauri Khan.

In an interview with Galatta Plus, Anubhav Sinha recalled how his feelings towards the film have changed over time. He also shared how the film had earned some respect nearly 12 years after its release. The director said, “At some event, Shah Rukh jokingly said the film flopped, so that day it sank in. I hated the moment but I moved on from there. The real surprise has come over the last three-four years that every time a visual effects film shows up, Ra.One starts trending on Twitter. It blossomed pretty late. Now people talk about the film with reasonable amount of respect.”

Anubhav also shared that during the time of its release, the response was very divided. He said, “It had such [a] polarised response. People either loved it or they hated it. I don’t know the percentage.”

Anubhav’s latest film Bheed is now out in theatres. The black and white film stars Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Pankaj Kapur and Dia Mirza. This year, he also produced Hansal Mehta’s Faraaz and will be producing Sudhir Mishra’s Afwaah with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bhumi Pednekar and Taapsee Pannu.