Chitti (character)

Chitti Babu
Enthiran character
As depicted in the song "Irumbile Oru Irudhaiyam"
First appearance	Enthiran (2010)
Last appearance	Ra.One (2011)
Created by	S. Shankar Sujatha Rangarajan Madhan Karky
Portrayed by	Rajinikanth
Voiced by	Rajinikanth
Information
Nickname(s)	Chitti
Species	Android robot
Relatives	Dr. Vaseegaran (Creator)
Nationality	Indian

Chitti Babu (Tamil: சிட்டி பாபு), commonly known as Chitti, is the titular character of the 2010 Tamil science fiction film, Enthiran, written and directed by S. Shankar. The character, fictionally said to be the most advanced android robot in India developed by Dr. Vaseegaran, was portrayed by Rajinikanth. Along with the global success of the film, the character also became iconic, being regarded as a pioneer of science fiction in the cinema of India.

Background

Chitti, before prosthetic skin overlay and clothing

Although S. Shankar made an early claim that Enthiran would be a film for "everyone", including those who may lack computer literacy, the film makes reference to many scientific principles relating to the fields of engineering, computer science, and robotics.^[1]

Issac Asimov is mentioned several times in the film, including in the song "Boom Boom Robo Da" and in a scene in which Dr. Vaseegaran is asked if Chitti Babu was created with respect to Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics, which Asimov first introduced in 1942 in his short story "Runaround". Vaseegaran responds to the question by saying that Chitti was not made according to those rules as Chitti's purpose was to kill enemy soldiers during war. The song "Irumbile Oru Irudhaiyam" further makes reference to many technical terms; a notable example is the line "En neela pallale unnodu sirippen" (என் நீல பல்லால உன்னோடு சிரிப்பேன்), which translates to "I will smile at you with my blue tooth", alluding to the wireless technology. In the introduction of the film, Vaseegaran uses the popular programming test phrase "hello world" to test Chitti's speech ability.

Description

Chitti's technical specifications are revealed during many scenes. Chitti often introduces itself by stating the clock rate of its central processing unit and its random-access memory limit, which is respectively 1 terrahertz (10¹² hertz) and 1 zettabyte (10²¹ bytes). Chitti is also shown to be equipped with ZigBee, a wireless low-power communication specification. It is also revealed to have built-in Wi-Fi and medical imaging capabilities, which can be seen when Chitti uses ultrasound to screen Latha's (played by Devadarshini) baby during her childbirth. At one time, when Vaseegaran (also played by Rajinikanth) breaks Chitti into pieces for romancing Sana (played by Aishwarya Rai) and throws the pieces into a landfill site, Vaseegaran's mentor Dr. Bohra (played by Danny Denzongpa) goes to the same place and discovers the damaged robot who still appears alive. He reconstructs Chitti back to perfect form, just adding a red chip to Chitti that will make it a ruthless terminator. Chitti also possesses an ability to detect and remove malware within its system and in any network it may be part of, which is evident when Chitti remotely destroys a worm programmed by Vaseegaran during the film's climax to terminate Chitti's army of robots.

An "upgraded" Chitti, after being reconstructed by Dr. Bohra.

Chitti contains built-in wheels under its feet, which allow it to become a vehicle for faster robotic locomotion. Chitti is also able to recharge its battery by itself when low battery power is detected. This can be seen in several scenes of the film, especially when Chitti uses a transformer to recharge after fighting thugs on a train and when Chitti and its army of robots recharge themselves using car batteries during the film's climax. Chitti's body, made of titanium, is able to resist heat up to 1000°C (in comparison to pure titanium which has a melting point of 1668°C), which is evident during the scene when it rescues people from a burning apartment complex. Whenever Chitti is given a verbal command, it tends to take them literally, including slangs. This is evident during the beginning of the film, when Chitti is told to 'put' the television on, it results in Chitti picking up the television screen and putting it on the ground, thus breaking it. Chitti also was shown to strive to finish what it is told to do, and when not finished it would utter "task incomplete" to itself. Other unique abilities of Chitti include reading and memorizing books by rapidly scanning through pages, analyzing DNA and genetic decoding, communicating with animals, and rebuilding or dismantling itself.^[2]

Cultural references

Chitti was also featured in Shahrukh Khan's 2011 Bollywood super-hero film Ra.One, in which Rajinikanth reprised the role in a guest appearance.^[3]

See also

• G.One - another fictional cyborg, introduced in Ra.One

References

1. ^ "Enthiran – The Robot Will Work In Village Too: Shankar". Tellytube.in. http://www.tellytube.in/movies/watch/60523/enthiran-the-robot-will-work-in-villages-too-shankar-trailers-and-trivia.html. Retrieved 2011-05-19. 
2. ^ "Science Facts in Enthiran the Robot - Tamil Visitor Coloumn - Endhiran | Rajinikanth | Aishwarya Rai | Shankar | AR Rahman". Behindwoods.com. http://www.behindwoods.com/features/visitors-1/endhiran-robot-22-11-10.html. Retrieved 2011-05-19. 
3. ^ Agencies (2011-10-06). "Big B to lend his baritone to 'Ra.One'". The Indian Express. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Big-B-to-lend-his-baritone-to-Ra-One/856540/. Retrieved 2011-10-08.