Rajinikanth says Akshay Kumar is the real hero of Shankar's 2.0

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth says that Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, who will be seen in a strange getup in 2.0, is the real hero of director Shankar's science-fiction film, which is a sequel to Endhiran.

Akshay Kumar is playing a scientist called Richard, who turns into a Crow Man after an experiment goes wrong. For the first in his career, the Bollywood actor will be seen in an antagonist's role for the film 2.0. Addressing the first look launch, Rajinikanth said he was tempted to play Akki's role in the film.

"If given a chance, I would have played Akshay's character. He is the real hero of the film," Rajini said.

Rajinikanth, who will be seen playing two roles like Dr Vaseegaran and Chitti in 2.0, has said that he had a great experience on the sets of the movie. "I enjoyed working on this film. This subject is very unique. This is not just a prestigious picture for the producers, director Shankar or the unit but it's one for the whole Indian cinema," Rajinikanth said.

The movie is made with a mega budget of Rs 350 crore and Rajinikanth is confident that the film will match Hollywood standards. "Despite our (Indian cinema's) technical excellence and financial strength, we have failed to reach Hollywood standards. But I'm confident this film will reach Hollywood level. It'll be a film our entire Indian film fraternity will be proud of," the superstar said.

Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey and Adil Hussain will be playing important roles in 2.0. The movie shot in 3D has been produced by Subaskaran Allirajah under the banner Lyca Productions and is scheduled for Diwali 2017 release. The film has AR Rahman's music, Nirav Shah's cinematography and Anthony's editing.