When the titular antagonist of an action game takes on physical form, it’s only the game’s less powerful protagonist who can save his creator’s family.

Agent Wali Khan (Irrfan Khan), appointed by the Chief of Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Ashwini Rao (Nassar), has been on a mission for nine years to keep an eye out for the activities of India’s most wanted D-Company leader, Goldman (Rishi Kapoor) while working as a local barber as a cover. One day he notices Goldman talking about his son’s wedding cards to people in the mosque where he prays and comes to know that his son is getting married and Goldman is breaking his security protocol to attend that. The same is confirmed by an ISI operative who works part-time as Goldman’s bodyguard and is a neighbor and friend of Wali though he doesn’t know the truth about Wali’s connections to Indian Intelligence. Sensing a chance to nab Goldman alive, he informs Ashwini about the same who assembles a team quickly – Ex-Indian Army officer and mercenary, Rudra Pratap Singh (Arjun Rampal), RAW’s explosives expert, Zoya Rehman (Huma Qureshi), and Aslam, a Mumbai thief and a murderer who was given a chance at freedom by participating in this mission.

Aanusmita Sharma (Shahana Goswami), an employee of London-based company Barron Industries, introduces a new technology that allows objects from the digital world to enter the real world using the wireless transmissions from multiple devices. Shekhar Subramanium (Shah Rukh Khan), a game designer who also works at Barron Industries, has delivered a number of commercial failures; an irate Barron (Dalip Tahil) gives him his last chance to develop a successful game. To impress his sceptical son Prateek (Armaan Verma), and upon the request of his wife Sonia (Kareena Kapoor), Shekhar uses his son’s idea that the antagonist should be more powerful than the protagonist. His colleague, computer programmer Aanusmita uses Shekhar’s face as a model for that of the game’s protagonist G.One (Shah Rukh Khan) (Technically Good One and in Hindi Jeevan, which means life), while the shape-shifting antagonist Ra.One (Technically Random Access Version One and in Hindi Ravan, an ancient demon king)[7] is made faceless. Another colleague, her boyfriend, Aakaashi (Tom Wu), implements the characters’ movements. The game, named Ra.One, contains three levels, the final level being the only one in which either character can be killed. Each character possesses a special device – the H.A.R.T (Hertz Amplifying Resonance Transmitter) which gives them their powers. Upon reaching the last level, the characters gain a gun with one bullet; the other character can be killed by this bullet but only if his H.A.R.T is attached.