For the release of his Ra. 1 he has mammoth plans to update modernize, re-equip and replace the sound and projection facilities in multiplexes across the country. For the first time the Dolby Surround 7.1 system is being installed in several miltiplex theatres for the Ra. 1 release.
And this is not just a vain wish to be one-up on all the other technically-sophisticated films. SRK is going all-out to ensure Ra. 1 sets a new benchmark for technical finesse in Hindi cinema.
In June the Ra. 1 technical team headed by Shah Rukh Khan will be in Los Angeles to get special sound effects done for the film. These effects never used in any Indian film can only be experienced fully only when the new Dolby equipment is operational.
Sound maverick Resul Pookutty who is getting ready to leave for LA to get the special sound effects in place took time off to explain, "You see, Ra. 1 is not just a movie experience. It will be the first Indian film to hover somewhere between being a game and a movie. It requires a very unconventional sound and visual quality for which we're getting the Dolby 7.1 system installed. "
Resul admits that multiplex theatres in Mumbai are going a complete makeover for the release of Ra. 1. "And for this I want to give a large part of the credit to Ramesh Sippy who has been hands-on in supporting us in the campaign to update and modernize and sound and projection in the theatres. "
Explaining the Dolby 7.1 system Resul says, "Dolby 7.1 is a new sound format which gives you two additional surround channels that ensure much wider sound compared to the present Dolby 5. 1. All the digital cinemas playing sound through their native systems and formats will now have to go through a Dolby processor which follows and standardizes the cinemas according to the ground rules of the SMPTE (the Society Of Motion Picture & Television Engineers) and ISO (International Organization For Standardization) which ensure a better movie experience for the audience. "
Shah Rukh is apparently sold on the idea of taking Indian cinema to an international level with Ra. 1.
The idea to get sound effects done in LA and to install Dolby 7.1 in Mumbai's theatres comes from SRK alone who has taken complete charge of the project's post-production editing marketing and release.
Says Resul, "The Dolby 7.1 format goes a long way in creating a larger-than-life experience on Ra. 1. We're looking at changing the Indian audiences' movie-viewing experience this Diwali. "
