The wait is finally over for Rajnikanth fans as Reliance Home Video has launched last year’s visual extravaganza Robot on DVD and VCD.
In S. Shankar’s 2010 release Robot, Rajinikanth plays the role of a super scientist Dr. Vaseegaran who creates an equally brilliant robot CHITTI.
This is what CHITI had to say about Rajni Sir!
Person in crowd: “Does God exist?”
Chitti: “Who is God?”
Person in crowd: “The One who created us”
Chitthi [points at Rajnikant]: “Dr Vaseegaran created me. So God does exist.”
Director Shankar uses Chitti to convey his views on human behaviour in Robot and he does this with aplomb. The awe-inspiring action sequences, the drama, the romance and more importantly the heart behind this film makes Robot a paisa-wasool entertainer. The film uses special effects which Bollywood has never seen before.
According to popular Bollywood folklore, Robot has been made on a budget of Rs.180 Crores. This is the most expensive Indian movie ever made. The last 40 minutes has an upgraded Chitti, morphing from snake to giant man to enormous tower in one breath, intent on creating a new species, Robo-sapiens. Robot is also a triumph of technology. Domes light technology has been used to shoot 3D images of Rajinikanth for the first time to match the skin tone lighting for both the human and the robot. There are 1,500 CG shots in the film, of which 200 are complicated shots. Twenty-two scenes of the movie have been shot using animatronics and special make-up. 57 costumes for Aishwarya and 55 for Rajinikanth were designed by Mary E. Vogt (Men in Black, Batman Returns). Prabhu Deva, Raju Sundaram and Lawrence Raghavendra have choreographed the five songs.
This sci-fi film has Rajnikanth essaying a double role. After 10 years of hard work and perseverance, Dr. Vaseegaran (Rajnikanth) creates an andro-humanoid robot named Chitti (Rajnikanth). Sana (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) is Dr. Vasee’s girlfriend for whom Dr. Vasee doesn’t have much time. Chitti is flawless as a machine but things take a horrible turn when Dr. Vasee instills human emotions into him. He falls in love with Sana and is hell-bent on marrying her. However, Sana considers him to be a mere ‘toy-friend’. This angers Chitti to no end and he becomes an unstoppable force causing havoc in the lives of the people around him.
Critical Acclaim
Robot has managed to garner a lot of critical acclaim.
Taran Adarsh from bollywoodhungama.com said, “Robot is a crowd-pleasing and hugely mass appealing tale of android revolution with a thrilling plot, rich and imaginative screenplay, super action, astounding effects and most importantly, Rajnikanth, who is the soul of the film. It’s the Big Daddy of all entertainers. Miss it at your own risk!”
Anupama Chopra of NDTV said, “Robot rides on Rajinikanth’s shoulders and he never stoops under the burden. Aided by snazzy clothes, make-up and special effects, he makes Chitti endearing.”
Aniruddha Guha of DNA said, “The creepy laughter, body language, the sneer under the heavily made-up face all create an effect that leaves you spellbound. This a Rajni fest all the way and it’s not to be missed.”
Sweta Agnihotri, Chief Operating Officer, Reliance Home Video says, “With Robot, Shankar has achieved what no other filmmaker has. Rajnikanth has delivered an outstanding performance in the film which is a wholesome entertainer. It’s a must have for your DVD collection.”
Robot is available on DVD (Rs.299) & VCD (Rs.99).
