Shankar’s Robot starring Rajinikanth was made at Rs 150 crore. The director has upped the ante with the film’s sequel, 2.0, at a jaw-dropping Rs 350 cr making it India’s most expensive film ever made. The film that once held that title was the upcoming Baahubali 2, directed by SS Rajamouli (at a whopping Rs 250 cr).
Sequel stats
While 2.0 releases on Diwali next year, Baahubali 2 is set for an April release. While Baahubali 2 is a period film and will be released in three languages including Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, 2.0 will be released in several languages including Hindi.
Statement of intent
Trade analyst Amul Mohan says, “I have heard that the budget of 2.0 is Rs 350 crore. It’s a big statement of intent from the South industry. We, in Mumbai, are struggling to make movies at a fraction of that amount. But the budget of 2.0 makes sense as the first film was a worldwide success. And when Rajinikanth teams up with Akshay Kumar, you always know it is going to be a bigger player. But having said that, 2.0 is not a big budget film by Hollywood standards. Rs 350 crore, when compared to a Hollywood film, is nothing, given today’s currency exchange rate. But if anybody can pull it off here, it’s Shankar.”
B-Town gets left behind
According to Amul, both Baahubali 2 and 2.0 will be competing with each other. “I genuinely feel that the Tamil and Telugu film industry are at loggerheads with each other. There’s much excitement about Baahubali 2 as it’s releasing in April 2017. It’s Rajamouli vs Shankar and Tamil vs Telugu films, more than anything else. That’s the game and why they have such a great and healthy competition to go and outdo each other with the best kind of effects and pushing the envelope. That’s the reason I feel that the Mumbai film industry is a little behind. We are so busy fighting among ourselves, that we are getting left behind in this whole rat race.”
On a massive scale
Trade analyst and exhibitor Akshaye Rathi adds, “2.0 will be counted as among the most expensive films in India because of its super expensive VFX, robots and all kinds of creatures. Baahubali 2’s landing cost will be Rs 175-180 crore (approx). The makers of 2.0 have scaled up the budget because of the massive combination of Rajinikanth, Akshay, Shankar and AR Rahman — so they have to play at a scale which comes at a cost. Clearly in terms of VFX and technology, it is being aimed as grand in terms of scale, naturally associated with a filmmaker like Shankar, who made the hugely expensive film. Robot was also massive in terms of mounting and scale. In 2.0, when you add Akshay to the cast, it is bound to leave the audience dumbstruck.”
Why is 2.0 so expensive?
- The makers of the film announced last year that the production cost of the film was expected to be around Rs 350 crore, making it the most expensive film in Indian cinema’s history.
- Bollywood’s Akshay Kumar, who charges around Rs 45 crore per film, plays the villain.
- Several international technicians and experts were roped in for the stunt sequences. A particular fight sequence in the film alone amounted to Rs 20 crore. This fight between Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar is the most thrilling sequence of the film and is part of the climax.
- It took Akshay three hours to put on the make-up and one hour to remove it. He plays Dr Richards who turns into a crow as a result of a wrong experiment. His drastic make-over was created by Hollywood make-up artist Sean Foot (who has earlier worked in James Cameron’s Avatar) cost the producers a hefty Rs 4 crore.
- The first look of Rajinikanth and Akshay was revealed in 3-D at an event in Mumbai last week to attract the attention of the national media. The first look launch itself was done on a budget of Rs 6 crores with gigantic LCD screens all round the venue at the mega launch. The marketing of 2.0 is estimated to be around Rs 40 cr.
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 "Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar")
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