Robot is first Indian film of its type: Rajnikanth

Southern superstar Rajnikanth, who leaves audiences in awe with his implausible stunts and unique styles, says his forthcoming sci-fi movie Robot is the first Indian film of its type and that every aspect of it is comparable to cult Hindi movie Sholay.

"Around Rs1.6 billion [Dh123 million] has been invested to make the film. It's fantastic; technical excellence is there. Sholay made history not because of the money or budget involved, not because it was a multi-starrer, not because of the technicalities, but because of its subject. The way Salim-Javed had written it, the way Ramesh Sippy directed the film, the way human emotions were created, the character Veeru, Jay, Basanti...

"Like Sholay, in Robot too there is an excellent storyline, excellent character sketches. This is the first Indian story of its type. It's science fiction and excellently made," Rajnikanth said at the music release of the film in Mumbai on Saturday.

Director Shankar has made the movie bilingual as Robot in Hindi and Endhiran in Tamil. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan plays the female lead opposite Rajnikanth in both versions.

‘Tough and challenging'

The actor says he accepted the role only because of his trust in the director. "Shankar is an excellent technician and one of the best directors of India who can mix the class and commercial elements very well. I did Sivaji with him and I trust him completely, so I agreed to do the film — else I would have not done the film, as it is a very tough and challenging role."

First Kamal Haasan was supposed to do the role and even Shah Rukh Khan was approached. When asked about that, Rajnikanth gave the witty reply: "Daane daane pe likha hai khane wale ka naam." (Every morsel has someone's name on it.)

The music was launched by Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan and his entire family was present on the occasion.

"Thank you so much for inviting me and giving me the honour and privilege of releasing the audio of this much talked about film. I am very privileged because I have a long association with Rajni. There is no doubt in my mind that he is indeed son of the soil and he is the person who is greatly, greatly loved and admired by every Indian," Big B said.

Rajnikanth, too, remembered his long association with Big B and said, "Amitji is my inspiration and I can't forget the films I did with him Andhaa Kaanoon, Giraftar and Hum. I can't forget the love, affection, care he showed towards me at that time. Thank you very much, the evergreen Amitji."