REVEALED: How much Rajnikanth's 2.0 cost

'2.0 is an expensive film, but but every penny is justified.'

After conflicting reports about how Shankar's Rajinikanth-Akshay Kumar starrer 2.0 has gone way over its budget, an insider reveals the film's real budget to Subhash K Jha.

"It is not all the ridiculous figures being thrown around by people who have no idea about such things. The actual budget of 2: 0 is Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion), and that too after all the VFX being done again since the original VFX was of poor quality," the source says.

"The film is far more expensive than the usual 3D films in India. Most films in this country, using that format, are first shot in 2D and then converted to 3D. 2.0 was shot in 3D," adds the source.

The apprehension now is one of mass acceptability in North India.

Rajinikanth, the king of the south, has a poor market in the Hindi belt. His last film Kaala as poorly received in North India.

This is where Akshay Kumar comes in.

He is a huge draw for Hindi film-goers but his makeup as the arch-villain in 2.0 has not been well received by his fans.

Apparently, they do not like to see Akshay in such a getup at all.

Meanwhile, 2.0 has already recovered Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million) by selling its satellite rights.

"Recovery of investment won't be as difficult as it is being made out to be," the source says, "Yes, 2.0 is an expensive film, but but every penny is justified."