A Bollywood superhero needs to be a synthesis of all the components that make up the superhuman world, from the men in ridiculous costumes that fly across American movie screens to the gravity-defying Chinese warriors, Hong Kong martial artists, and videogame pyrotechnics. As a result, ladies, gentlemen, and especially boys and girls, Shah Rukh Khan introduces to you G. One, the superhero father of the science fiction movie RA.ONE, which has the highest budget in Indian film history and is being released this Diwali weekend, the most significant Indian holiday also known as the Festival of Lights in the West.

The Anubhav Sinha-directed film is adorable and humorous, with acrobatics, computer-generated animation, and song numbers flying everywhere, but at its core is the common story of a family, particularly a father and son who don't get along. Shah, or SRK to his uncountable millions of followers, sincerely believes in family values and the power of movies, just as Oscar Hammerstein II famously said, "You have to believe in whiskers on kittens and cozy woolen mittens to get away with singing about such cheesy banalities in a lyric."

Supporting RA.ONE wouldn't require you to adore Bollywood, but it sure would. The "item" numbers and cultural allusions pass fast, with little regard for Western viewers who are unfamiliar with South Asian films. But kids all over the world will love the videogame culture and computer technology that underpin the dream. The end credit crawl is over 10 minutes long, and the stunts and special effects work elevate the bar for technological complexity in Indian cinema.

It was planned for the film, which reportedly cost over $25 million, to be released in June.

The release was delayed until Diwali due to extensive post-production work and a 3D conversion. The only 2D prints that were available in Los Angeles prior to SRK's attendance there for a spectacular presentation following premieres in London and Toronto on successive nights are those that will be exhibited in the majority of movie theatres worldwide.

The picture begins with a superhero (Khan) attempting to free a woman who is being held captive by a villain in a dream world (affording Bollywood stars Priyanka Chopra and Sanjay Dutt with crowd-pleasing cameos). Prateek (Armaan Verma), a student whose father is a drab computer nerd who makes video games for a London video game billionaire, turns out to be the one who had this daydream.

Khan portrays Shekhar Subramanium, a figure who will never be a hero to his son and who behaves in stereotypical ways when it comes to eating. He sports a bad curly wig, a heavy South Indian accent, and wears a lot of food stereotypes. Despite Shekhar's devoted Punjabi wife Sonia's best attempts, Prateek is convinced he needs a new father because even his Michael Jackson impression from the Bad phase falls flat (Kareena Kapoor, a famous star herself).

Nerdy dad gives in to his son's pleading desire to create an opponent in a videogame "who only wins," or a complete badass who is impossible for any gamer to defeat. Random Access One, or Ra.One, is the moniker given to this character by Shekhar's design team. The superhero known as Good One, or G.One, who would make the tenuous attempt to defeat this supervillain, is modeled after his creator, Shekhar.

G.One is similar to the Hindi term Jeevan, which means "life," whereas Ra.One is a loose parody of Raavan, the demon king from Hindu mythology (the explanation is brief but true).

The computer lab that creates this game goes haywire as the villain develops sentience and eventually escapes the virtual world to roam among humans and wreak destruction as he pleases. This elaborate and overly drawn-out sequence has strong similarities to the Universal Frankenstein films from the 1930s. He not only assassinates Shekhar's Chinese coworker Akashi (martial artist Tom Wu, a Hong Kong native), but also Shekhar himself.

The movie's key emotional sequence is this one. The abrupt widow and son of Shekhar now have to deal with both Shekhar's virtual replacement and everything they miss about their late father and husband. The son and Shekhar's computer team are aware that the only way is to beat Ra.One is to remove G.One from the game. Shekhar's self-made lookalike warrior—Khan without the evil wig—enters the actual world to save his family, who are being sought after by Ra.One. In addition, he searches for the villain's most recent guise, whether it be as Akashi or another identity. (Recognized Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal plays the lead in Ra.One.)

The movie's most important and emotional sequence is this one.

The son of Shekhar and the sudden widow now have to deal with not only Shekhar's virtual replacement but also all they miss about their late father and husband. The son and Shekhar's computer team are aware that defeating Ra.One can only be accomplished by removing G.One from the game. Shekhar creates a lookalike warrior, Khan without the wicked wig, and sends him into the real world to defend his family, who are being hunted by Ra.One. Along with that, he sets out to find the villain's most recent guise, whether it be as Akashi or another one entirely. Arjun Rampal, a well-known Bollywood actor, plays the lead role in Ra. One.

The performance pushes emotions in line with what one could anticipate from a film based on a made-up videogame that will undoubtedly become a real one. The young performer gives the most convincing and impactful performance. Khan is truly endearing, albeit over the top, in each of his two characters. Kapoor is stunning and alluring as the adoring, then mourning, wife, and Rampal is fantastic as the bad guy.

By presenting a behind-the-scenes EPK demonstrating the stunts and effects during the credit roll, the movie purposefully highlights two things. One is that, as promised, SRK carried out his own stunts. And second, India is capable of competing in the top leagues for stunts and special effects.

SRK's firm Red Chilies Entertainment, which co-produced the film with Eros International, put a significant amount of money into it. Nothing less than a calling card for the movie business is RA.ONE. RA.ONE upholds sound family values and ethical company practices with such success. Raavan's effigy is also burned at Diwali as is usual to symbolize the triumph of good over evil.