Shankar's sci-fi thriller '2.0' is all set to hit the big screens on November 29 and the film crew is currently busy promoting the film across the country.
'2.0' stars Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Adil Hussain, Sudhanshu Pandey amongst others. The film will mark the Tamil debut of Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar. The film will release in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.
Filmmaker Karan Johar, who is releasing '2.0' in Hindi, hosted a press meet which was attended by director Shankar and Akshay Kumar.
During the interaction, Shankar shared interesting information about the team having approached Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger to play the antagonist in '2.0', the role which eventually went to Akshay Kumar.
Shankar said, "It was a very important role in the movie and the team is International. Cell phones are universal and hence I thought, bringing in an International star, would make the global audience connect much more to the film. I wanted to cast Arnold Schwarzenegger for the role and I met him. We had talks and discussions and he agreed to be a part and had given his dates also. But then, things didn't fall into place as the Hollywood contract (call sheet) was different from what we use in Indian contract."
He further stated that many differences cropped up and they couldn't bring in Arnold for '2.0'. He said, "Due to the differences, we couldn't proceed with him. We then started to look out for Indian stars who are capable of pulling off that role. That was the time when Lyca Productions were in talks with Akshay Kumar for the Hindi remake of Kaththi. My team suggested that Akshay could be the one for this role and I also felt that he would be suitable. I narrated the story to him (Akshay) and he liked it, and that is how we signed him."
'2.0', which is touted as the 'most expensive film made in Indian cinema' will hit the screens on 29 November 2018.