The biggest of stars, the grandest canvas, a story spanning millenniums, weaving its tale from mythology some 5,000 years ago into an imagined future, 874 years away, computer graphics & VFX, style & some substance, youth and experience … that is Kalki 2898 AD for you.
Billed as the most expensive Indian film at Rs 600 crore, will it be able to do a Baahubali, an RRR, or a Pushpa? Will it find pride of place among those films from Tollywood that have catapulted to international fame and earnings? That is the question on everyone’s mind.
After all, Nag Ashwin comes with a reputation. He created magic with Mahanati, the biopic on yesteryear actress Savitri, and won hearts and awards. And this is just his third film in 10 years as working as a director. You need tremendous self-confidence to dare to dream this big.
Kalki manages to take the story across centuries, transcend from a mythological Mahabharatha into a tech-savvy distant future, without too much of a fuss or transition issue, using computer graphics and real-world art, quite seamlessly.
If it was war and death from the battlefield aeons ago, the fast-forward into the future is even more depressing. At least there was a Krishna and an Ashwattamma and a dharma that guided actions and events then. Now it is a wait for a dismal end.
An ageing, shrivelled God of The Complex who wants to get the ambrosia of power and youthfulness by drawing the life force out of babies still forming in a mother’s womb.
It would seem that even in future, women have no control over their own bodies. They are not part of the power structure, their only role is to conceive and nurture. So you can catapult/zoom a thousand years into the future and you still find sexual harassment in the workplace.
From Deepika Padukone to Disha Patani, Shobana to Mrunal Thakur, the one who stood out for me was the bright young Malayalam actress Anna Ben of Kumbalangi Nights fame. I would have hoped for a stronger character for the woman who would be the mother to God Kalki. With two young women as the film’s producers, I would have liked to see that.
Prabhas himself is not out and out the goody-goody superhero. He has human frailties, is willing to sacrifice even his godfather to protect himself, is laidback, selfish, doesn’t want to move or act unless he feels threatened, and the only thing that truly ignites him is the desire to go to `The Complex’.
It’s interesting that in our futuristic world, the ultimate aspiration is for a green world, with real plants and animals, real fruits and food. But Prabhas’s world looks grey, dismal and desertified, with bad roads too, and the only thing people seem interested in is accumulating points. A parallel to our money-driven world.
The director has consciously introduced diversity in the population, especially in the rebel world, which is fighting for a better tomorrow, perhaps to make it a global platform.
Amitabh Bachchan is the connecting thread from the beginning into the future, and as expected, he brings gravitas to his role and responsibility, easily looking the better of the two in the fight sequences with Prabhas.
The first half is all about introducing the Kalki universe, the rules of living and existence. Cameos by Dulquer Salman, Mrinal Thakur, Vijay Devarakonda, add not just to the star weight but also to the story of the film, but the surprise elements are Ram Gopal Varma and a Rajamouli. They evoke laughter and lighten up the mood but I wondered how much a non-telugu audience would connect to the contextual humour.
The specially designed futuristic car Bujji is almost a character in the film, with Keerthy Suresh, lending the voice for the AI-driven robot that displays emotional intelligence as well.
Kamal Haasan does not get too much screen time, but then the challenger to God had to be someone like him. No ordinary actor may be acceptable in that role. That is why, the sequel will be eagerly awaited, where we can expect Kamal Haasan’s character to get meatier with confrontations set up between him, the Big B and the Rebel Star Prabhas.
(Uma Sudhir is Executive Editor, NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
