Shankar's 2.0 is probably the most expensive film ever made in India. Starring Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar, it is the sequel of the 2010 film, Robot (Enthiran in Tamil). After a grand trailer launch in Chennai on November 3, Shankar, Akshay, and distributor Karan Johar addressed the media in Mumbai. "2.0 started evolving four or five years ago. We believe the film will connect with the audience as it has an international theme," says Shankar.Will Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who won Chitti's heart in the first film, have a cameo in the sequel?. "She is indeed a part of the script, but she doesn't have a visual presence," the director replies. "The story doesn't demand her presence, but there are multiple references to her character Sana in 2.0."
Shankar reveals that he had planned to cast Arnold Schwarzenegger as the antagonist in the film, but somehow, it did not work out. "We had allotted dates to him as well, but things did not work out. Contracts in India and in Hollywood are contradictory. So, we were looking to cast someone from the Indian film industry. Everyone asked me to consider Akshay and I felt it too. I narrated the story to him and he said yes," Shankar says. 2.0 has been shot in Tamil, but will be released in 14 languages, including Hindi.
Karan Johar's Dharma Productions will distribute and present the film to the Hindi audience. Earlier, Karan collaborated in presenting the Baahubali films which did wonders at the box office. Karan feels there is a need to encourage such collaborations within India's different film industries. "I think the true crossover has to happen internally in India," Karan says. "We keep talking about 'crossover' when films go out of the country, but I think Baahubali is a true crossover film. We have to encourage such crossover movements." Karan is optimistic that 2.0 will work like a similar fashion.
In 2.0 Rajinikath returns in dual roles of scientist Dr Vaseegaran and his creation robot Chhiti. The much talked-about villain, played by Akshay Kumar, is a bird-man like scientistt named Dr Richard. The high octane action sequences in the film have been choreographed by action directors such as Steve Griffin, Nick Powell and Silva. The film also stars Amy Jackson. Made on a budget of Rs. 500 crore, 2.0 has reportedly recovered as much as Rs. 370 crore ahead of the film's release by selling satellite and digital rights. 2.0 is all set to hit screens on November 29.
The movie will release in around 10,000 screens worldwide, along with 6,600-6,800 screens in India. This will break the record of Baahubali 2, which released in as many as 6,500 domestic screens and 9,000 across the world. Apart from Enthiran and Shivaji, 2.0 is the third collaboration between Rajinikanth and director Shankar. The movie also stars Amy Jackson.