![The <I>2.0</I> Trinity: Director Shankar, Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar As 'Creator, Protector, Destroyer' The <I>2.0</I> Trinity: Director Shankar, Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar As 'Creator, Protector, Destroyer'](https://c.ndtvimg.com/2018-11/au5a7bkg_akshay-instagram_625x300_26_November_18.jpg?downsize=773:435)
Akshay Kumar just shared a priceless photo of himself with his 2.0 co-star Rajinikanth and director S Shankar and we can't get over it. In the photo, the 48-year-old actor can be seen posing with Rajinikanth and S Shankar at what appears to be a private airport. It was clicked ahead of a 2.0 press meet in Hyderabad, as was said by Akshay in the caption. Akshay Kumar referred to the religious concept of Trimurti of Hinduism to describe each member in the photo. Alluding to the three deities comprising Trimurti - Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer - Akshay Kumar wrote: "Here's Team 2.0 - the creator Shankar Sir, the protector Rajini Sir and the destroyer (yours truly) ahead of the press meet in Hyderabad today."
Directed by S Shankar, 2.0 is a sequel to 2010 film Enthiran, in which Rajinikanth returns to reprise the roles of both Dr Vaseegaran and his creation robot Chitti. Akshay Kumar, who referred to himself as "the destroyer", has been cast as the antagonist. He plays a villainous scientist named Dr Richards in the movie, who is on a mission to destroy humanity for the better.
Shared on Monday afternoon, Akshay Kumar's post garnered over 3,46,431 'likes' in two hours with comments such as "world's best talent in a single frame" and "this trio will bring box office destruction in three days" flooding the comments' section. 2.0 is all set to hit screens on November 29.
However, in a recent interview with news agency PTI, the director revealed that Akshay Kumar was not the first choice to play the villain in 2.0. The team had approached veteran Hollywood action star Arnold Schwarzenegger for the role: "We had thought of casting Arnold. We had talked and allotted dates also. But somehow things did not work out as the contracts of Hollywood and India are contradictory," PTI quoted S Shankar as saying.
2.0, which is said to be made on a budget of Rs 500 crore, has reportedly recovered as much as Rs 370 crore ahead of the film's release through satellite and digital rights.