SRK’s ‘train’ing ground

An action sequence on a speeding train in Shah Rukh Khan's superhero flick Ra.One is said to be identical to the one in the Rajnikanth superhit Endhiran.

A source says, "The two sequences have many special effects and boast of the hero's never-before-seen stunts on top of a train."

But the question is — how did two films made in different cities by two separate teams of technicians end up with such striking similarities?

Says a source close to the project, "Shah Rukh has always been a big fan of celebrated chase sequences on top of speeding trains in films, like the one in Sholay. He wanted to mix that sense of thrill with special effects and stunts in Ra.One. How was he to know that director Shankar had the same thing in mind for Rajnikanth?"

Efforts are on to re-edit the train sequence in Ra.One so that not a single frame resembles the chase in Endhiran. Resul Pookutty doesn't deny the similarities either and says, "There are lavish train-top action sequences in both films. We are looking at how to keep it (Ra.One) completely different from the earlier one (Endhiran)."

The buzz is that Shah Rukh doesn't want his audience to call the scene a direct copy of the one in Rajini's flick. Neither does he want to do away with the sequence. By the way, the scene cost him close to Rs 3 crore!