Did You Know? Shankar Was Thinking About Making A Cinematic Universe Before Marvel Made It Popular?

Cinematic universes are gaining more and more popularity as time passes by. It can be safely said that the front-runners of this exploding trend is Marvel Studios and their interconnected films that are now collectively known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But, did you know that a certain visionary director, ahem, Shankar, was also thinking on the same lines in 2008? What's interesting is that 2008 is the very same year that saw the release of the Robert Downey Jr.-starrer Iron Man, the film that became the starting point of the MCU and established the tone of what is now a $30 billion franchise. As far as Shankar's musings are concerned, read on to know more about what the director of 2.0 has to say.

An interesting story was told by Shankar in an exclusive interview with News18 Showsha. While talking about it, he said "While filming Robot in 2008, I had this idea of creating a story that brings together Senapathy (played by Kamal Haasan) from Indian, one-day chief minister Shivaji Rao Gaekwad (played by Anil Kapoor) from Nayak and Sivaji (Rajinikanth) in one film."

A Forward-Thinking Concept

The reception that Shankar had hoped for for this multi-starrer idea was far from it.

He further added, "I was so excited by the idea. I called my assistant directors and told them about it. But they just stared at me, unsure of how to react. They probably thought I was crazy! The idea of bringing three iconic characters together in one film seemed outlandish at the time. Even senior technicians didn't quite know how to respond. They smiled politely but didn't seem to take it seriously."

When The Avengers Rekindled An Old Flame

Watching Marvel Studios' The Avengers many years later brought up memories of Shankar's own idea for a movie universe. "I confided in many people about this idea," he said, "but since no one responded positively, I shelved it. Then came The Avengers, and it reignited that spark within me."

"Hindustani 2" by Shankar Will Be Released Soon

As the multi-starrer project stays on hold, Shankar's Hindustani 2 is gearing up for a release on July 12. The film will be released in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu all over the globe. It is the sequel to the Hindi blockbuster Indian. Along with Kamal Haasan's original protagonist, Siddharth, Kajal Aggarwal Kitchlu, and Rakul Preet Singh also feature in the film.

What are your expectations from Hindustani 2? And, do you want to see Shankar's dream project come to life? Jump down in the comments section below and let us know your thoughts!

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