The much-awaited film Rajinikanth – Akshay Kumar starrer 2.0 is only a few days away from its release. The film, which is one of the most expensive films made in India, is a sequel to the 2010 blockbuster Enthiran (Robot) which earlier starred Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with Rajinikanth. The new additions Amy Jackson and Akshay Kumar add a new twist to the story. Akshay is pretty stoked to see the audience’s reaction as the film has been made on a massive scale.
At a press meet on November 26, Akshay Kumar said that 2.0 is an experience and an experiment. “When Shankar narrated the script to me over two-and-a-half hours, I was completely bowled over. I had never heard a screenplay like this. It was an experience and an experiment. I have done many social films, but this is one social film that speaks about an international message. I was surprised as to why nobody else had thought of such a story,” Aksy said.
With the film made on Rs 510 crore budget, the amount spent on visual effects and technology is massive. Speaking about the same, Akshay further added, “This is the best technical film India has produced. It is not a film that has been transformed into 3D, but an original 3D film where you can feel every beat of it. Mr. Shankar is equivalent to James Cameron on steroids. Everything in the film is larger than life. We cannot compete with international films because their budget is 17 times higher. But in Rs 510 crores, they cannot make what we have produced here.”
Akshay Kumar essays the role of Dr.Richard/Crowman. For the role of the villain, he had to undergo Kumar had to undergo hours of transformation every day to get the extensive makeup and prosthetics on his face. Recalling the process, he further added, “It was a painful process. For almost three and a half hours, I had to sit down quietly and do nothing. Three people used to work on my body and I had to stay patient…that was tough. I would say that the whole process of prosthetics made me a much calmer and patient person. “I am already a patient person, but this made me more subtle and mellow at that time. But when you go back to sleep, you know that you have to repeat the same drill the next day.”
Rajinikanth, who is the lead of the film, recently said that Akshay is the highlight of the film. But, Akshay insisted that 2.0 is all about Rajinikanth. “2.0 is very much Rajinikanth ji’s film and I am the Amrish Puri of the movie. It is amazing how he transforms every dialogue into something huge. He puts entertainment into every line he says. He is very professional and humble. He is what he is and that speaks a lot about him,” he praised the professionalism of the South superstar. He even said that they would have conversations in Marathi with each other on the sets of 2.0.
Akshay even said that he is open to working in the south industry and lauded their work ethic. “The South is advanced in technology. They are also very professional. If they want the shoot to start at 7.30 am, it starts at that time. They shoot about 35 to 40 shots in a day compared to the 13 shots that we (Hindi film industry) shoot in a day. They do not take others for granted and they value everyone’s time.”
Considering the film is made on a massive budget, when asked whether Akshay has jitters about the box office success, he said, “More than me, my producer must be. Yes, I am nervous about it. But, I spoke to him on call. He sounded happy.”
Hindi film industry has not had many successes when it came to sci-fi genre besides the Krrish franchise. With the successes of Baahubali and Enthiran, the South industry sort of took over the nation by story. When asked whether he would like to do more sc-fi films, maybe superhero ones, Akshay said, “Yes, if it comes to me then surely. Superhero is not the only kind of sci-fi. There are other ways to do sci-fi. A film based on plague or something like the end of the world or a disaster film, some kind of science which has gone wrong. I would love to do it. It’s because of us humans something has gone wrong and suddenly something has happened to all of us, we have become zombie..(laughs). I love these kinds of stories.”
Directed by S. Shankar, 2.0 is set for a worldwide theatrical release on 29 November 2018.
