RA.One is touted to open in a record 3,500 screens. Are 15 lakh plus people watching the film first-day-first-show?

With a marketing strategy running round the clock, Shah Rukh Khan has almost managed to blend RA.One into our everyday lives.

After over six months of aggressive promotions, the film is finally set to hit the big screens on Diwali. And here's the last leg of the run that is trying its best to make sure the film hits a jackpot.

RA.One will open in approximately 5000 screens worldwide, which makes it the biggest Bollywood release ever. In India alone, the film occupies over 3,500 screens, which is easily 30 per cent more than the last big release, Salman Khan's Bodyguard.

Not surprisingly, this has left little room for the other two releases this week that includes Hema Malini's Tell Me O Kkhuda and Himesh Reshammiya's Damadamm.

Says Ashish Saksena of Big Cinemas, "Shah Rukh's track record for Diwali has been almost 100 percent. There is little chance any exhibitor would let go of the opportunity to play the movie as much as possible. We opened advance bookings for selected screens last week and they are all houseful already."

For instance, if a certain multiplex property has seven screens in all, on an average, six of them would be playing RA.One. The remaining one screen will be shared between TMOK, Damadamm and two Tamil releases, Suriya's 7 am Arivu and Vijay's Velayutham, (depending on if the multiplex chooses to screen regional films).

Trade analyst Amod Mehra thinks it's the largest kind of discrepancy the industry has ever seen with respect to simultaneous releases. He says, "Himesh's last few films have done dismal business and Tell Me O Kkhuda doesn't stand a chance competing with RA.

One when it comes to star value. So the exhibitors have reserved over 90 per cent screens for RA.One. More money the multiplex makes in the first weekend, the better revenues."

Both Hema Malini and Himesh however seem least perturbed about RA.One eating up maximum screen space. The veteran actress says, "I am happy with the number of screens I have got.

No complaints." Adds Himesh, "If a movie like mine released on a stand alone basis, it would have found it difficult to sustain. Now we are getting around 300-350 screens across India and we are happy with that."

Interestingly, for most distributors, RA.One will be the film that might end the bad business of the pre-Diwali period. Distributor Ramesh Sippy says, "The film releases on Wednesday and it is expected to take in maximum money on the first weekend.

With this kind of screen space, chances are that collections for RA.One will fall in the second week itself. But still distributors are at an advantage because their ownership percentage is maximum in the first week." Adds a Cinemax representative, "If multiplexes had a choice, they would allot all screens to RA.One."

Apparently the second SRK starrer this year, Don 2 may surpass RA.One when it comes to screen space. Says producer Ritesh Sidhwani, "There is no other film releasing with Don 2. So I will show it in every single screen in the country if possible."

Things you should know about 'RA.One'

Every one knows that "RA.One" is Shah Rukh Khan's most ambitious sci-fi superhero film that is coming out on Diwali Wednesday. Here are some more tidbits about the much awaited film:

* Directed by Anubhav Sinha, the film, which also stars Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal in prominent roles, has been made on a Rs.150 budget crore and has already created a lot of buzz.

* The film is releasing in more than 3,000 screens in the domestic market in 2D and around 500 screens in 3D. The film has been dubbed in Tamil and Telugu and it will also make inroads in South Korea and Hongkong, where Bollywood movies are not so popular.

* The idea of the film originated when Anubhav was watching a commercial about six years ago which showed two children controlling a human with a remote.

* Anubhav and Shah Rukh watched as many as 200 superhero films in multiple languages from all over the world before making "RA.One".

* Shah Rukh has roped in Oscar winner Resul Pookutty for the special sound effects. The team went to Los Angeles get the sound effects done for the film.

* Jeff Kleiser of 1994 Hollywood film "Stargate" was hired as the supervisor of visual effects.

* Nicola Pecorini of "Loathing in Las Vegas" fame is the director of photography, while the film is edited by Academy-award winner Martin Walsh.

* It has 3,500 VFX shots, which could mark a new beginning for the use of the technology in Indian films.

* The task of adding special effects was outsourced to multiple specialty studios including in London, Paris and Bangkok, as also in the US.

* Dolby surround 7.1 system has been installed in several multiplexes in the run-up to the sci-fi's release.

* Chinese actor Jackie Chan was reportedly approached for a role in the film and later Chinese-American actor Tom Wu was signed on to be a part of the film.

* Shah Rukh roped in international singer Akon for two songs -- "Chammak Challo" and "Criminal" -- and both of them are a rage.

* The G.One suit that Shah Rukh wears in the film is made of silicon, styrofoam and rubber and is said to be considerably heavy. SRK said he lost 5 kgs after shooting in the superhero suit.

* Shah Rukh had to don prosthetic make up for 8 to 10 hours a day without a break which made it difficult for him to even eat and drink.

* Tamil superstar Rajinikanth and actress diva Priyanka Chopra will be seen in cameos in the film.

* Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has given his voiceover for the film.

* The music launch of "RA.One" was streamed live on a video-sharing site for an undisclosed amount. The event's telecast rights are believed to have been sold to the TV channel for a Rs.10 crore.

* Satellite rights of the film have reportedly been sold for Rs.35 crore, while distribution rights have been sold for Rs.77 crore.