 "Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone Kalki 2898 AD Movie Review")
Director: Nag Ashwin
Cast: Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone, Dulquer Salmaan, Disha Patani, Saswata Chatterjee, Brahmanandam, Anna Ben, Shobana, Mrunal Thakur and Vijay Deverakonda
Directed by Nag Ashwin, Kalki 2898 AD is about Lord Vishnu. It’s a mix of mythology and sci-fi. It’s quite a starry movie with a line-up which includes Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone, Dulquer Salmaan. A kind of film which audiences will wait to watch in theatres for its brilliant international standard VFX. Set in dystopian world, undoubtedly, the film is a visual extravaganza.
Amitabh Bachchan plays the role of almighty Ashwatthama. In fact, he is the actual hero of the film. Set in world’s last city, Kashi, in 2898 AD, an old man Yaskin played Kamal Haasan, the ruler of Complex, visualises a new world and establishes a fertility lab where young girls are stolen or snatched from their parents and a seed is put into their bodies to get them pregnant. It’s an unethical practice done in the most inhuman way.
In Mahabharata we have all read about the story of Ashwatthama and Krishna. Krishna cursed him with immortality and poverty and a life which is worse than a painful death. In this futuristic film, Ashwatthama (Amitabh Bachchan) backstory plays an important role in understanding the sequences in, Kalki 2898 AD .
You may call it fictitious, but a lot of it is science, especially the pregnancy lab where a seed is planted in the body of a woman to get her pregnant. They use the best serum to let this happen. Sumathi (Deepika Padukone) whose initial fertility test was negative turns out to be pregnant in a miraculous way with the strongest fetus.
Ashwatthama’s (Amitabh Bachchan) character seemed to be the central point of the film. He fought for the Kauravas, but his attempt to fulfill Duryodhana’s final wish led to the mistaken deaths of Draupadi’s sons. Later, he aimed a Brahmastra at the unborn child of Abhimanyu.
What we see in the film is the darkness of Kali Yuga and this we can actually connect with the film as where we are heading towards with all the advancement of science and technology and most importantly the film shows the severe scarcity of water where humans have played with nature so much that we are left with nothing. And abundance of wealth is in the hands of the few powerful men who misuses with nature for personal benefits.
The film spans a vast timeframe, from the Mahabharata era to the year 2898 A Kalki 2898 AD gives us a fresh perspective on Mahabharata. Ashwatthama is seen protecting Sumathi, but the film revolves around what leads him to protect her and what is her connection with Sumathi and why is he hell bound in saving her.
Bhairava (Prabhas’s) performance was good, but the man who stole the show was undoubtedly Amitabh Bachchan. In one of scenes Prabhas tells Ashwatthama, ‘’Yeh budda toh kaafi fit hai" (This old man is very fit) and that actually applies for Amitabh Bachchan. His screen presence is magical even at this age and he seems to be all charged up. Saswata Chatterjee too plays the role of a villain whom we would love to hate. Prabhas plays a perfectly grey role. Bhairava ( Prabhas ) at first instance may seem to be selfish and a street smart guy, but he has a heart too. He has his hidden instrests, but at the same time doesn’t forget his duties.
What didn’t work for the film is the slow pace. The movie picks up in the second half with on event happening after another. Giving Disha Patani an ornamental role opposite Prabhas didn’t do justice to her acting caliber. In fact, if we see the film very carefully Deepika Padukone’s part was also not very meaty. The first half was bit of a stretch and could have been made a little tighter. But on the whole, considering that Kalki 2898 AD is his third film, he has been courageous enough to bring out something that is different and out of the box.
The best part of Kalki 2898 AD is the way the story is woven taking the best of mythology and science and making us think. The movie stresses on Mahabharata’s core themes – dharma (righteousness) and karma (consequences of actions) – in the context of a future society with its complex moral landscape and the connection of universal concepts and societal structures.
Rating: 3 and half out of 5
WATCH the trailer of Kalki 2898 AD here:
Lachmi Deb Roy is the entertainment editor of Firtspost, Network18. She reviews films and series with a gender lens. Her interviews are called 'Not Just Bollywood' because she takes huge interest in world cinema. OTT over theatrical releases is her preference unless and until its a King Khan film. She takes interest in fashion, food and art reviews too.