Will 2.0 overtake Baahubali in Gulf market?

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Will 2.0 overtake Baahubali in Gulf market?

The Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar and Amy Jackson starrer film which is directed by Shankar will release in more than 100 screens in the Gulf region.

By Arti Dani

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Published: Thu 29 Nov 2018, 3:57 PM

Last updated: Sat 1 Dec 2018, 12:52 PM

THE MUCH-AWAITED, HIGH budget action entertainer 2.0 is finally releasing worldwide tomorrow. If you want to catch the Rajinikanth hysteria in the UAE, then the distributors of the movie suggest that you attend Friday evening shows at Deira City Center, which has been witness to large scale cutouts of the actor and huge celebrations during earlier film screenings.
The Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar and Amy Jackson starrer film which is directed by Shankar will release in more than 100 screens in the Gulf region.
"The release of 2.0 will be as big as Baahubali in terms of screen counts in the Gulf region which includes the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain," said Anish Wadhwa who is the Gulf distributor for 2.0. 
Anish added that the movie will also release in the non-traditional Gulf market such as Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Iraq as well. 2.0 that is slated to be released in 14 languages across the world will be out in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi in UAE theatres. "Gulf is the third biggest overseas market for 2.0 considering that there are so many Indians here, and it will be catering to all those expats."
"Rajinikanth will draw in the South Indian crowd, whereas Akshay will be our big draw to get in the Bollywood audiences. This is the most expensive Indian film ever and we are expecting a huge number from this market." 
  2.0 is a sequel of the commercially successful sci-fi Rajinikanth-starrer Enthiran, which released in 2010. 2.0 has a budget of nearly Rs600 crores making it the most expensive Indian film made in 3D. There is a high percentage of CGI and VFX work in the film. Rajinikanth is reprising his role as Dr. Vaseegaran and also Chitti. The film marks Akshay Kumar's Tamil debut and is also his first film with Rajinikanth. The music is by Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman. arti@khaleejtimes.com 
 
 
Nearly Rs 600 crore spent on 2.0
"Mark my words, the film will be a super hit. Advance wishes to Shankar and Lyca Productions. Nearly Rs600 crore has been spent on the film. The film wouldn't have been possible without the support of Lyca," Rajinikanth is quoted as saying in a recent interview. 
    "This is not a Rajinikanth film. The money has been spent on one man Shankar, who has never failed to entertain audiences. This is his vision...," he added. 
Director Shankar too is all praise for his lead actor. "Audiences will see him as scientist Vaseegaran, robot Chitti and 2.0 version of Chitti. There will also be a giant version of Chitti in the climax. We also have another version but we'd like to keep that as a surprise," Shankar added. IANS
How 2.0 tested Akshay's patience  
Akshay Kumar who features as the antagonist went through an elaborate prosthetic makeup process for his character. The actor says it was quite a test of his patience. "It was really a hard process for me to get the prosthetics done. 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," Akshay said. IANS
Shankar praises Rajinikanth
Shankar is all praise for Rajinikanth's commitment. "When we were all set to shoot the climax in a stadium in Delhi, Rajini sir fell ill. Six months of planning had gone into the preparation of the climax which was supposed to be shot in 40 days. Despite his bad health, Rajini sir insisted we go ahead with the shoot. We shot in extremely hot temperature. Rajini sir had to shoot wearing a 12-kilo robotic suit. We were stunned by his commitment," he said. IANS
 
Karan on South Indian cinema
Karan Johar, the distributor for 2.0 said that South Indian cinema has always been ahead in terms of budget  and technology, "I think the great movies of many of the filmmakers in the South have encouraged that movement even in Hindi cinema. I think it is because there is a 2.0 and there was a Robot and a Baahubali, that there will be cinema spectacles which will actually follow them." IANS 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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