With a budget of Rs 510 crores, 2.0 is by far the most expensive Indian film to have ever been made. So, will Rajinikanth break his principle of not promoting his films before their release, for the sake of drawing in bigger crowds for Shankar’s 2.0?
Though outwardly calm, the 2.0 team now faces the mammoth task of recovering its investments from this grossly over-budget film. With Rajini’s recent films underperforming at the box-office, the producers of 2.0 would like the superstar to join Akshay Kumar in some serious film promotion. “So far, Rajini sir hasn’t agreed to do combined media interactions with Mr Akshay Kumar. But he may soon come around, as he knows 2.0 is crucial to his career,” says a source close to the project.
While Akshay’s stronghold over the North Indian belt will help the film, Rajini’s uncertain appeal among Hindi audiences has the producers of 2.0 very nervous. With the budget being what it is, this film simply can’t afford to be a success only in selected pockets.
And now 2.0 has unexpected competition from Hollywood’s Sylvester Stallone, who returns with the hefty pugilistic offering Creed 2. Sources say Creed 2’s Indian distributors, Warner Brothers, intend on putting up a fair fight with a sizable number of screens competing for the audiences’ attention. 2.0 has an uphill task ahead.
