Akshay Kumar Was Not The First Choice For Rajinikanth’s 2.0, Says Filmmaker Shankar

It’s been over 5 years since the release of Robot’s sequel 2.0. It starred Rajinikanth as the human robot Chitti, a character remembered to date for his exemplary action and charisma. In the sequel, Akshay Kumar wowed the audience with his spine-chilling portrayal of the antagonist, Pakshi Rajan. This marked the actor’s Tamil debut. Did you know, Akshay Kumar was not the first choice for the character?

Recently, Shankar, the filmmaker, mentioned that instead of Akshay Kumar, they planned to cast a Hollywood star as the film’s antagonist. Reportedly, Arnold Schwarzenegger was the Hollywood actor the producer wanted to cast in his project, but the plan could not go through. During a media interaction, Shankar said, “We had thought of casting Arnold. We had talked and allotted dates as well. But somehow things did not work out as the contracts of Hollywood and India are contradictory. So we thought of looking at a good cast from the Indian film industry,” as quoted by PTI.

Furthermore, the filmmaker explained how Akshay Kumar was roped in to play the character. He revealed that the actor was in contact with Lyca Productions, who were the producers of 2.0 about the Hindi version of Kaththi, at which point Akshay was strongly recommended for the role. Gradually, he presented the script to Akshay, and the actor signed the film.

Akshay Kumar is currently preparing for his upcoming film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, also featuring Tiger Shroff. The trailer for the film, directed by Ali Abbas Zafar is expected to be released soon. But before that Akshay Kumar revealed a teaser for the title song, which had everyone excited. Akshay Kumar tweeted a video of himself and Tiger Shroff dancing to a cheerful tune in military-inspired attire, accompanied by enthusiastic background dancers. The song is slated to release on February 19.

This is a remake of the original film of the same name, which was released in 1998. David Dhawan directed the original Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, with Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda playing the lead parts. On the other hand, the remake is being helmed by Ali Abbas Zafar and produced by Pooja Entertainment and AAZ Films, and it is expected to be the biggest blockbuster of 2024. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan will be available in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada.