BADA SCREEN DAMKHA: Kalki 2898 AD

 Kalki 2898 AD : Review 

Director: Nag Ashwin 

Produced by: Priyanka Dutt, Swapna Dutt, C.S Awani Dutt 

Cast: Prabhas, Kamal Hassan, Amitabh Bachan, Deepika Padukone, Disha Patani, 

Where to watch: In Theatres Near You. 

It's been a while since I have seen a movie in the theatre. I mostly prefer watching content on OTT platforms. The charm of going to theatres has somewhere down the line been lost for me. It is quite nice to see how PVR and IMAX are trying to stay afloat by offering special offers, re-running old classics at nominal rates, and improving their service. Some movies can't be seen on the small screen. This holds quite true for Kalki 2898 AD.

After a series of colossal failures with Saaho and Ramayana, Sri Prabhas is back to his roots, this time in an action-packed dystopian science film. In support roles, we have Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, and Disha Patani. To date, it has become the most expensive film to produce, owing to its star-studded cast and sophisticated post-production editing.

The movie's premise is set by Ashwatthama's back story – when he is cursed for killing the unborn child in Uttara's womb and is forced to live till the end of the Kali Yuga.

In the present day, Prabhas's character, Bhairava, aspires to live a better life at the "Complex" – an area where the elites of Kashi live a life of comfort. The poor and disadvantaged are forced to fight to feed their stomachs. Meanwhile, their leaders are preoccupied with finding ways to humiliate and enforce physical torture to get them to comply with their draconian laws (Kali Yuga times, for real. Also, George Orwell's 1984 much?).

In the Complex, the leaders are all worried. They need the "Eternal Youth" serum for their supreme leader, Yaskin. Among the many women forced to undergo lab experiments for the "Youth Serum" is Deepika Padukone's character, SUM-80. She becomes pregnant. Her unborn child is considered the saviour and the source of ultimate strength for Yaskin. She runs away from the complex, to save her child. She finds rehabilitation in a village called "Simbhala". However, peace was short-lived, as a massive army came fetching for her, destroying everyone in the village. 

This poses confusion and a bigger question to the audience: Who is the father? And did she conceive the child naturally? In reality, it is believed Vishnu Yash will be the father of Kalki. In this cinematic universe, it is not clear if he even exists. Are the makers going to show or declare that this Kalki is half-lab-born and that the identity of his father is not important? Well, many of our questions will be answered in the sequel to the film if the makers provide us with a backstory of SUM-80.

The movie has a ton of pleasant surprises, apart from its action-packed scenes and amazing VFX. It falls short of making the audience laugh – yes, the punchlines are too outdated and they don't land very well. We all can make an argument that it is somewhat a mixed bag of plagiarism from internationally acclaimed movies and TV shows. But in the minds of the desi audience, it has managed to make a mark.

While a lot of details are left to uncover, just like Baahubali: The Beginning, the movie has stretched certain sequences that weren't even required. I don't know why Prabhas constantly calls THE ASHWATTHAMA "buddhe." I understand that in Kali Yuga no one respects anyone, but in certain scenes, it looked like it was done with a vested and cunning interest.

Patiently waiting for the sequel. You know where to find me, reader.

Fin.

Huzzah.