Release of Rajini and Akshay's 2.0 pushed to April 2018

In news that could be disappointing for fans of the superstar Rajinikanth, Lyca, the firm that is producing his eagerly awaited magnum opus, 2.0, has announced that it is pushing the film's release to April next year.

In a statement to the media issued late on Saturday, Lyca's creative director Raju Mahalingam said, "Lyca Productions-Superstar Rajinikanth-Akshay Kumar-Shankar magnum opus SciFi action thriller 2.0 (is) to be screened worldwide in April 2018."

The delay, it seems, is because of the hi-tech post-production work, which the producer claims is on in full swing. 

It may be recalled that the team had earlier announced that the film would be released on 25 January 2018.

The news assumes significance as there are rumours in the Tamil film industry that Rajinikanth's announcement on politics had been parked as the star was waiting for his film to be released.

This was to ensure that his political move did not have any adverse impact on the fortunes of his film, which, incidentally, is billed as India's costliest, with over Rs450 crore having been spent on it.

The film, which is being directed by ace filmmaker Shankar, has music by AR Rahman and also features Amy Jackson and Akshay Kumar.