2.0

  • 15 Dec - 21 Dec, 2018
  • Omair Alavi
  • Reviews

We all know that the 67-year-old Rajinikanth is a superstar in the South of India and is regarded as one of the most influential persons in the Indian film industry. How writer/director Shankar makes use of the actor in his latest sci-fi 2.0 is what makes the film a must watch because it is better than anything that closely relates to the specific genre to come from India. Furthermore, the film comes with a message and when the audience leave the cinema, they mull over the message making it a full paisa vusool flick.

The film follows the adventures of Vaseegaran (Rajinikanth) and his team of robots Nila (Amy Jackson) and Chitti (also Rajinikanth). He activates the formerly rogue Chitti to save the city from a giant menace that takes the shape of a crow when attacking those with a cell phone in their hands. Post interval, the audience realises that the villain is, in fact, the negative energy that came out of the body of Pakshi Raja (Akshay Kumar) who committed suicide after cell towers near his home destroyed animal habitat, specifically his birds. That’s why he takes the shape of a giant crow and attacks all those who he believes are involved in damaging the cycle of life on the planet as well as making people sick. Will Chitti win against a bad guy who is doing the right thing or will Pakshi Raja emerge as victorious because he is doing the planet a favour? 2.0 is all about their battle!


What makes 2.0 stand out from all the other science fiction movies in India is that it has been made intelligently, rather than just for the sake of being featured in the sci-fi genre. Shankar must be credited for coming up with a relevant plot and executing it the same way he visualised it. With Rajinikanth, he got the biggest superstar in India and he used him in the best way possible – as Vaseegaran, Chitti and the different versions of Chitti. Amy Jackson looks stunning in the film and doesn’t have any expressions which is exactly what her character needed since she played a robot. Then there was Akshay Kumar who will go down in history as one of the few actors who actually stood their ground while acting opposite Basha, Rajinikanth’s nickname. Only Amitabh Bachchan has given a parallel performance when sharing the screen with the veteran Rajini who is worshipped in most parts of India for his larger than life personality.

The film’s USP, however, was special effects that is better than any film to come from this region, let alone India. Since Rajini is playing a robot and the inventor both, he looks different and so does his robot’s 2.0 version that appears in the latter part of the film. How the director manages to show the destruction of high magnitude as well as fight scenes featuring the two giants (reminding one of Voltron) is something only he can explain. Like the last version, this film is dubbed in Pakistan but that’s doesn’t look odd because the syncing looks natural and acceptable. Some parts of the story might seem exaggerated but that’s the kind of liberty any director with a vision can and must take. •

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