Three days after the leak of the Kaala teaser, superstar Rajinikanth just can't seem to catch a break. Now, the teaser of the magnum opus 2.O has been put out on the internet by unknown persons, and predictably gone viral within minutes of the leak.
The leaked version, which seems to be a rough cut, is a minute and a half long and shows the actor in both roles – as Chitti the robot, and Vaseegaran the scientist. It also stars Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, who plays the villain. And while it is not the finished version, the effort put into visual effects is already apparent. The grand scale of the film is visible even in this short clip.
According to sources, select members of Lyca telecom – the producers of 2.O – were invited in London to view the first glimpse of the teaser, and the video that has been leaked was through a mobile phone by someone at the venue.
Produced on a budget of Rs 400 crore, 2.O is believed to be India's most expensive film production and is a sci-fi film that has created a lot of excitement. The release date however has been constantly pushed as the post production work is still underway and this is apparent in the teaser where the green screen is still visible in certain shots.
In 2.O, Akshay Kumar is playing the role of a robot/villain and scientist Dr Richard whereas Sudhanshu Pandey, also a Bollywood actor, will be seen in another negative role. British actor Amy Jackson is playing the female lead. Oscar-winning music director AR Rahman has composed the soundtrack for this film with cinematographer Nirav Shah cranking the camera. The film will be simultaneously released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.
In June last year, two pictures from the Shankar directorial were leaked ahead of the film's release and were being widely circulated online.
The latest leak is bound to have shocked producers and the team working on the film. It comes after producers of Kaala were forced to release the official teaser of the film at midnight, minutes after it was leaked online.
Leaking content online before the official release should not be TOLERATED or ENCOURAGED ! This is a heartless act ignoring hard work, efforts and sentiments of the makers for few seconds of excitement !!! #BeAshamed #StopPiracy #StopMisusingDigitalMedium
— soundarya rajnikanth (@soundaryaarajni) March 4, 2018
In March last year, the trailer of SS Rajamouli's magnum opus Baahubali: The Conclusion, was leaked online, just hours before its official launch. The trailer of the film's Malayalam version was leaked on social media, much to the surprise of the makers, who actively kept things under wraps.
In November 2016, a 24-year-old trainee graphic designer, Krishna Dayanand Choudhary who was part of the editing team of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion was arrested for leaking a clip.
Krishna had stolen the video from the editing unit and shared it with his friends in Vijayawada. He was later taken into custody by the Hyderabad cyber crime police.
Shocked to hear that #2point0 teaser has been leaked online by some miscreants. This kind of criminal adventurism should be stopped and strict action taken against the offenders.
— Sreedhar Pillai (@sri50) March 4, 2018
#2Point0 teaser with temporary graphics is out on the internet. The unfinished produced has got our attention and curiosity but ruined the surprise factor. Boon and bane of technology!
— Rajasekar (@sekartweets) March 4, 2018
Meh. Poor audio. Unfinished CG. Bad resolution. Whatever that rough cut is, it isn't a proper teaser. Whoever leaked it is a stupid philistine.
— Sudhir Srinivasan (@sudhirsrinivasn) March 4, 2018
I'll wait for the makers to finish their work and release it officially. And no, this leak won't ruin the actual teaser for me. #2.0