In Indian epics alone, we have enough fascinatingly intricate tales of good and bad, deities and demons, darkness and dawn. Nag Ashwin’s film Kalki 2898 AD attempts to bring the past and future together by merging stories from Mahabharata with a dystopian science fiction world in the future. The absence of heroes in their birth is underlined by him. The director’s amazing stroke is that he has cast Amitabh Bachchan as Ashwatthama the last living human being who fought at Kurukshetra. He also makes him the substrate of the story. His opponent is Bhairava (Prabhas) is here to facilitate Kalki’s arrival, Vishnu’s last avatar. It makes huge faith leaps and has segments that are mesmerizing. Does Kalki 2898 AD change everything? Yes, in terms of aspirations. No, when it comes to writing and storytelling.
The narrative flits back and forth between Kurukshetra war to Kasi to Shambala which is situated six thousand years after the war had happened. Kasithat still existed even though everything was destroyed in it; Ganges – one mighty river dried up on its shores leaving no water or food for its inhabitants anymore. A Complex comes second as far as life support systems are concerned since it contains air food and water all within a single towering upside down pyramid structure beyond reach of the common man Yaskin supreme or simply known Supreme speaking about them would be enough (Kamal Haasan). Shambala was used as a sanctuary for people from different cultures and religions who were ready to die for a better tomorrow.
Kalki 2898 AD (Telugu, dubbed in other languages)
Director: Nag Ashwin
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Kamal Haasan, Shobhana
Plot: In a dystopian world around 6000 years after the Kurukshetra war, Ashwatthama gets ready for one final battle at the sign of hope.
Duration: 181 mins.
A lot has been put into creating these worlds – namely the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Kasi, Shambala and the Complex. Through Kalki you are immersed in battles and unlikely alliances between these worlds on an epic scale. It’s not just a good vs evil story involving superheroes and demons. It also attempts to pay homage to Telugu classics, contemporary mainstream ‘mass’ cinema and craving for comedies. While some of this works out well but others seem incongruous for example two popular directors appear in cameos; these portions might have been better suited for Instagram reels and memes, but seem out of place in this story.
For the first 181 minutes, the first half of this movie deals with setting up the story as well as introducing Bhairava as a laidback bounty hunter who is yet to find his own calling. He desires to accumulate one million units (a currency unit) and enter into Complex for a better life. Nevertheless, his moral compass remains ambiguous. On the surface, Bhairava’s introduction and him taking on twelve men may feel like a staple for any Telugu film featuring an A-lister. This pays much later when he finally takes on Ashwatthama in an extended but delightful sequence: that is when one truly appreciates the Bujji and Bhairava connection.
Bhajji (Byu-jz-1, voiced by Keerthy Suresh) is Bhairava’s AI-powered custom-made vehicle. But as far as Bujji is concerned we are only given some passing remark about its origin story. The animation prequel series titled Bhairava and Bujji (streaming on Amazon Prime Video) was more fun-packed than expected. So does the relation between Bhairava and his landlord (Brahmanandam). Sai Madhav Burra’s dialogues don’t always hit their mark.
The romantic subplot between Bhairava and Roxie (Disha Patani) does not help move forward, it hinders instead my interest in the story line. Roxie has been brought in for a purpose – to introduce us to both Bhairava and Complex but there could have been better ways of achieving this goal if at all they existed. Some other cameos during initial parts do not work either except one played by Mrunal Thakur. For instance, those shown as father or two additional cameos that make brief appearances during a song involving Bhairavais bowing to characters from the earlier films of Vyjayanthi Films than providing any insight into Kalki’s world. Oh, there are other cameos as well in the Mahabharata portions that serve as a surprise.
Among many others, these specific moments from the first half became notable because of the introduction of evil as Yaskin supreme (played by Kamal Haasan enjoying his ominous turn), SUM-80 or Sumati (Deepika Padukone), like a lab rat craving for life better than this or motherhood and Ashwatthama who realizes that it is time for him to fight his last battle.
However, Kalki 2898 AD finds its groove in later parts by way of providing the required emotional gravitas through Sumati. Some other characters include Mariam (Shobhana), Veeran (Pasupathy) and Kyra (Anna Ben). The Complex is full of masked raiders (costume design by Archana Rao), all dressed up in dark clothes, fighting against Shambala army clad in white. This reckons when we get closer look on how they appear and why people hope for them cutting across cultures and beliefs as inhabitants of Shambala. At times between episodes featuring actions with futuristic machines, there are some instances which remind us about how life has changed beyond recognition. For instance, Sumati tries to understand what marriage means and what happens thereafter.
The first hour, though, is mostly just building the world and its characters gradually. However, Ashwatthama (and once referred to as ‘angry giant man’), Bhairava, Bujji who converts into a giant machine and having futuristic guns with laser-powered detonators among others formed the payoffs in terms of battles for Manas (Saswata Chatterjee) et al. As a spectacle this is visually awesome on big screen and Kalki sets a new benchmark.
There’s an old saying by 17th century scholar Thomas Fuller that says “it is always darkest just before the day”. The essence of his words reverberates across every culture and religion. Hope and light can’t be far from where despairing people break down after tearing apart the world through strife. Cinematographer Djordje Stojiljkovic and Nitin Zihani Choudhary’s production team paint a brooding dark world full of muddy browns, ominous blacks with hope coming in form of sunlight trying to stream in, warmth from fire glowing etc.
Amitabh Bachchan’s character as Ashwatthama is larger than life itself – he is supposed to be about eight feet tall. He dwarfs everyone else there; it shows who is boss by his demeanour. When he throws men and machines up into the air, you are compelled to believe him completely. Within that also Kalki 2898 AD plays to Prabhas stardom who tries his best as if becoming modern superhero but with attitude too. A reveal towards the final portions was a pleasant surprise that created anticipation for part two of Kalki Cinematic Universe (yes there will be). But even so; instead of being cliffhanger like, it felt abrupt at its end.
The music here too had hits and misses at some points. Santhosh Narayanan brings out rich homage for both Bhagavad Gita and old Telugu classics before making a stunning transition into a futuristic gaming zone realm. However, it takes a little while to get used to the songs.
Kalki’s narrative has several subtexts to decode, long after the film is over. The parallels drawn between complex’ design, Yaskin and Kamsa themselves as well as manas flying machine. A lot can be said in favor of this. If only, however, it had avoided uninteresting romance and lackluster dialogues that would go on to create a more unified plot. But despite all its flaw; Kalki is a bold experiment that deserves big cheers.
