Kalki 2898 AD REVIEW: Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhas, Deepika Padukone look believable, the amalgamation of Hindu mythology and dystopian comes with a few flaws

Film:
Kalki 2898 AD

Director: Nag Ashwin

Writer: Nag Ashwin

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhas, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone, Disha Patani, Rajendra Prasad, Shobhana, Brahmanandam, Anna Ben, Pasupathy, Malvika Nair

Runtime: 180 minutes (3 hours)

Platform: In Theatres

Kalki 2898 AD Review

Written and directed by Nag Ashwin, Kalki 2898 AD is a blend of Indian mythology and a dystopian future set in Kashi – now called the Complex. Starring Prabhas as Bhairava, Amitabh Bachchan as Ashwatthama and Deepika Padukone as SUM-80 aka Sumathi aka Maa, the film is set 6000 years after the battle of Kurukshetra War. The city of Kashi is now ruled by Supreme Yaskin (Kamal Haasan) – the self-proclaimed God of the Complex who runs the mysterious Project K.

While Haasan’s character and his minions are busy controlling the Complex and doing experiments on pregnant women to extract their essence for unknown reasons, the people of Shambala await the arrival of Kalki – the final avatar of Lord Vishnu who is believed to appear at the end of the Kali Yug. Scattered with several celebrity cameos and some cringe dialogues and scenes, Kalki 2898 AD is more of a buildup for the next part in the Kalki Cinematic Universe that has several shortcomings. Read our honest Kalki 2898 AD review for a detailed analysis of the film.

What Works

The blend of the Mahabharata with a dystopian future is beautifully done with applaud-worthy sets and lighting. Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan (spoiler alert: despite minimal screentime) shine brightly, making you wait to see them on the screen again. The cameo appearances by over 5 stars is a cherry on the cake.

What Doesn’t Work

The first half. Unwanted songs, forced ‘romance,’ cringe dialogues and scenes and Disha Patani showing off some skin. The movie’s long runtime paired with unappealing BGM (background music) and forced humour make the film seem lengthier than it actually is.

Technical Analysis

Kalki 2898 AD Story

The film begins at the end of the Kurukshetra War where Ashwatthama ends the Pandavas’ lineage by killing the unborn child of Uttara and Abhimanyu. Miffed with this, Lord Krishna curses Ashwatthama to live forever and protect his last avatar, Kalki, in the Kali Yuga. The narrative then shifts 6000 years into the future, where Kashi is now a desolate land devoid of its religious significance, nature and beauty. The people of Kashi are insignificant and resort to killing, selling information/people and killing to ensure their

Here we are introduced to Bhairava, a careless and self-obsessed bounty hunter whose only aim is to enter the Complex and enjoy a life of luxuries and his super-smart AI vehicle Bujji. We are also made known of the existence of Shambala and its people who are awaiting the arrival of Kalki and a lab filled with fertile women being pregnant only to have a serum extracted from their wombs. The film is basically a build-up for what’s still to come and is filled with unnecessary humour, cringy dialogues and a screenplay that seems written for an annual day school function. While the film is engaging post-interval – especially the 2nd half of the second half, the first half is a snooze fest with a half-baked script.

Screenplay & Dialogues

Kalki 2898 AD is written by Nag Ashwini with dialogues also penned by him and Sai Madhav Burra. While the blend of Indian mythology – the Mahabharata, and a dystopian world is seamless, the execution is poor with unnecessarily long scenes added to the screenplay. The narrative is causal in English and Hindi with Sanskrit words and terms like ‘watt.’ The dialogues are kind of childish and cringe on several occasions.

Direction

Nag Ashwin has done a better job as a director than as a writer in Kalki 2898 AD. From the Kurukshetra War to the war that will be fought to protect the final avatar of Lord Vishnu, Ashwin has done a commendable job in capturing the emotions of every character be it Sumathi’s anguish, Ashwatthama’s righteousness or Bhairava’s self-centred nature. Although the second half is enjoyable – especially the clash of the titans – Ashwatthama and Bhairava, it’s apparent that Nag has taken heavy inspiration from films like Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Star Wars, Game of Thrones and more.

Watching the film in 3D is a treat. He deserves a round of applause for his work behind the camera and some lessons on how to make the script crisper.

Editing

Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao – who is known for editing films like Sita Ramam, World Famous Lover, Bhaagamathie, Baahubali (both parts) and more failed to do his job well this time. The 3-hour long runtime could really do with some editing as several scenes in the first half, including Prabhas’ entry fight, could have been cut. A sharp scissor used on the unwanted and prolonged sequences would reduce the film’s runtime by around 20 minutes. Kalki would have received a 0.5 star more if the editing was crisp.

Kalki 2898 AD Music

Kalki music provided by Santhosh Narayanan isn’t that impressive. The Bhairava Anthem and Theme of Kalki are okay but the background music and special sound effects added is a little too much to handle. We hope the sequel does better in this department.

Kalki 2898 AD Star Performances

Kalki 2898 AD has several performers but the star performers of the film are Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan. While it’s a task to watch Amitabh’s younger version – thanks to the subpar VFXs, seeing Mr Bchchan as the 1000s of years Ashwatthama is a treat. From his acting and dialogue delivery to his action sequences, AB proves once more why he is regarded as the Shehanshah of Bollywood. The pain, frustration and happiness are clearly visible in his wisdom-filled eyes.

Kamal Haasan has minimum screentime – less than 10 minutes mind you, but he eats and leaves no crumbs. The actor as the film’s main antagonist does give you the creeps but also goosebumps with the last scene.

Prabhas is the film’s main lead, but unfortunately, we have seen this version of the actor in films like Saaho and Salaar. He doesn’t bring something new to the table but delivers a believable performance as Bhairava. His performance in the second half of the second half is the best we have seen of him in a long time.

Deepika Padukone as a third-time mother on-screen is commendable as she succeeds in making the audience feel her pain, loneliness and desire to see her child safe. Her emotional scene with Amitabh Bachchan in the second half shows her character is brave and strong despite spending most of her life in captivity.

Disha Patani is Disha Patani. Her minimal screentime paired with her skin-revealing clothes and enjoying a day at the beach and a night at a party is off-putting and something we see her do in the real world too.

Conclusion

If you are getting a ticket under Rs 350, watch it in theatres; it’s definitely not worth spending over Rs 1000 (plus money on popcorn, Pepsi and samosa) on it. The buildup is good, however, the wait for what is to come begins. If you are a Prabhas fan, we recommend you watch in theatres, but then again, make sure the ticket doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket.

Hope our Kalki 2898 AD review helps you in deciding if the film is worth a watch in theatres.

Watch the trailer of Kalki 2898 AD here

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