Kalki 2898

Cast: Prabhas (Bhairava), Kamal Haasan (Supreme Yaskin), Deepika Padukone (Sum 80/Sumati), Amitabh Bachchan (Ashwatthama), Disha Patani (Roxie), Dulquer Salmaan (Captain), Anna Ben (Kyra), Krishnakumar Balasubramanian (appearance) and Raju Prasad (voiceover) (Krishna), Mrunal Thakur (Divya), Vijay Deverakonda (Arjun), Malavika Nair (Uttara), Keerthy Suresh (Bujji), Brahmanandam (Rajan), Shobana (Mariam), Ram Gopal Verma (Chintu), Anil George (Counsellor Bani), Saswata Chatterjee (Commander Manas), Pasupathy (Veeran), SS Rajamouli (Bounty hunter and Bhairav’s rival) etc.
Director & Writer: Nag Ashwin
Producer: C Aswani Dutt, Priyanka Dutt, Swapna Dutt
Cinematography: Djordje Stojiljkovic
Music: Santosh Narayanan
Editing: Kotagiri Venkateshwara Rao
Production Design: Nitin Zihani Choudhary
Languages: Hindi, Telugu
Release Date: 27th June 2024

Rating: 4.2/5

Kal Ke Liye….

On the kurukshetra, Krishna approaches Ashwatthama. Krishna is relatively unadorned but omnipresent, barefooted but omnipotent, weaponless but not defenceless. He does not offer Ashwatthama death or as he calls it Mukti, instead, a chance at redemption by being the protector to his next avatar. He is garbed in white and not his favoured yellow dhoti, perhaps to symbolise peace. The non-reveal of his face with a heavy baritone to match even Amitabh Bachchan lends mystery and intrigue to his persona. What follows is a 1.30 min lovely ditty, almost like a hymn, showing the world’s gradual deterioration through wars, communal violence, poverty, slavery, atrocities and calamities to its current macabre existence; rendered in Bachchan’s voice as Ashwatthama, who waits for Keshav’s re-entry to this world.

Prabhas is yet to recreate the same kind of magic that was present in Baahubali. His acting in subsequent films like Salaar, Adipurush (check out our Adipurush review) and Kalki lack the same kind of potency and screen presence. Prabhas’s entry in the film was overdone with an attempt at being effortlessly stylish. Instead all the extra posing makes him look like a petulant school kid bargaining for an extra 5 minutes of sleep while the mother (bujji) bribes him with points. His moves appear slow and sluggish while he battles the rival bounty hunters with Narayan mantra playing in the background. In contrast, Bachchan’s re-entry as Ashwatthama is more relevant while being subtle.

Barring Prabhas’s entry, the other action sequences are well choreographed and enjoyable. 

Kamal Haasan looked stellar as the Supreme Villain: The Supreme Yaskin. Garbed in white and airborne with 5 mercurial balls afloat with him; he manages to convey absolute vileness and an arresting danger with his twisted and contorted talks in the only two scenes that he appears in the movie.This is one badass villain that I look forward to see interacting with the protagonists.

Bhairav V/S Ashwatthama makes for an entertaining watch, and this is one rivalry/friendship I look forward to seeing more of in the sequel. Would have liked to see more of Mariam. Special Star appearances by RGV, SS Rajamouli, Dulquer Salman, Vijay Deverakonda and others in guest roles turn up like easter eggs in various moments in the film. Comment below, if you think Disha Patanai (Roxie) looks Sizzling Hot!

There are various western elements to the film, from Shambala modeled after Star War’s Jedi (the attire and Mariam’s weapon) to Bhairav’s much talked about smooth Vahan (read Transformers),  Bhairav’s clones attacking Ashwatthama (read Naruto’s Kage Bunshin), the concept of an elite complex where everyone from the underground wants to earn enough points to be able to enter it (read Matt Damon starrer Elysium) and the underground which pretty much looks like a dystopian world depicted in every other hollywood movie out there. Add Indian mythology into the mix, and voila ! We have an eclectic mix promoting unity in diversity…. It’s interesting to note, that a lot of the extras hired look to be from diverse ethnicities and there is usage of english words like complex, fertile and supreme used in the hindi version. This looks prominent enough to be deliberate. Deepika being artificially impregnated, symbolises the concept of the Virgin Mary or Virgin birth, hence, The Universal mother. She goes through the Agnipareeksha, not to prove her purity but to persevere in her attempts at protecting her child. The movie is supposed to be a part of The Kalki Cinematic Universe (…umm Marvel Cinematic Universe, anyone ?)I wonder if Nag Ashwin is looking to make a point here?

Whatever the origins and inspirations that led to various aspects of the movie, the end product put up by the team is entertaining, action packed and intriguing with suspense to unanswered questions to be revealed in sequels. We have multiple storylines in the making and running throughout the movie.

The costumes look great (the charged shoes are my favourite), the vehicles are cool and we have a packed star cast. The Bgm employed could have been better, especially during character entries. I checked the bgm for Krishna’s entry for Telugu and Hindi, the Hindi version lacked the same bass effect and the impact of the lyrics was also inferior compared to the Telugu version. The VFX has quality, barring some small areas, would liken it to international standards.

We look forward to reveals! Kamal Haasan was introduced as Yaskin, not Kali, so who is Kali? Do we have another villain in the making? What was the mysterious project k and what is Yaskin’s 200 yr old background? When does Bhairav finally realise himself? What of Shambhala, now left in shambles?

The answers to these questions are for: kal Ke Liye!