Kalki 2898 A.D - Ashwatha"maa"

Kalki 2898 A.D

Sci Fi / Dystopia 

Hindi/Telugu/ 180 Mins / In Theatres now

Netflix (Hindi), Prime Video (Telugu) post release

Disclaimer - My Movie/TV  reviews are always spoiler free. 

I think the golden rule of a cinema reviewer should always be to only mention about the content as a whole, give an idea of the genre/premise and the technicalities. The idea  should be to provide your reader a view on if they could consider watching the movie (or introspect,  if they read your review AFTER watching). 

I find it extremely appalling and disgusting with the spoiler full movie reviews appearing in the media/newspaper. They  reveal key plot points, any surprise cameos - seeking perverse pleasure in spoiling the experience for viewers, much like the party poopers do so on Instagram/X/social media. It feels very disrespectful to creators and a very unfortunate trend, which i hope at the very least the so called movie critics will stop.

My thoughts on Kalki 2898 AD - 

Of all the 4/5 movies that Prabhas (one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Bahubali movies) signed after - This was probably the ONLY ONE i was hoping to watch on the big screen.  The reason was the young film maker Nag Ashwin being at the helm . His previous works include an interesting Yevade Subramanyam and the very good biopic on Tamil/Telugu actor Savitri - Mahanati .

As the initial looks / posters appeared - i had a bad feeling that this movie was also going the Adipurush way. This inspite of  Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, much later Kamal Hassan being associated with it. Yet, as the first look /trailer appeared, hinting at a heady cocktail (hopefully) of Dystopia, Sci-fi and Hindu mythology , i was reassured.

I watched the promos in both Telugu and Hindi and noted  that the lead actors had all dubbed their own voices. Big B and DP speaking their lines in Telugu, Kamal Hassan of course would do his lines in ALL his languages. 

But the biggest thing for me was Prabhas losing Sharad Kelkar and using his own voice in Hindi .  In my  opinion, an actor's voice is a critical part of his/her performance on screen and quite frankly if you charge a zillion crores per movie and your voice is not your own - then you are taking the easy way out.

This 3 hour  SciFi Dystopian epic can be seen broken into three distinct portions. The stunning prologue, carrying you right in the middle of the battle ruins of the  Kurukshetra. Ashwatthama (Amitabh Bachchan) is cursed to immortality, for his misdeed , his purpose for salvation - being called upon the protect the arrival of another of Vishnu's avatar. 

Contrary to what you have read, it is not DE AGING but some very average CGI which  creates a younger version of Mr Bachchan - much like seeing the animated Rajinikanth in Kochadaiiyaan. The animated interlude that follows has Ashwatthama lamenting his purpose, while he lies in wait for salvation, as he lives through many empires and regimes.

The exquisite world building that follows is praiseworthy and detailes - We are introduced to Kasi, the last refuge of humanity, where the people live in a state of lawlessness - under the thumb of the Supreme Yaskin (Kamal Hassan). His armies, lead by general Manas (Saswata Chatterjee) - suck the air, the water, the energy from the earth, to fuel the "The Complex" (surely it could be named something else!), where the rich and powerful thrive. 

Fertile women are high in demand, harvested by scientists of the complex for Project K? Deepika Padukone is SUM-80 , who is caring for the fertile women, herself seemingly infertile. There are the drifters, the  "Rebels" who live in a hidden city "Shambala" swearing allegiance to a lady prophet Mariam (Shobhana, after a long time!). The rebels are looking for the one pregnant woman,  Mother (Maa) who is supposedly carrying the God in her womb who will eventually  deliver them from the evil that plagues the earth.

We are introduced to Bhairava (Prabhas), a broke bounty hunter living in Kasi with his landlord Rajan (veteran comic actor Brahmanandam) . His sole aim in life is to make enough "units" to get into the Complex and live happily ever after. His trusted steed is Bu-JZ1 (Bujji, voiced by Keerthy Suresh (the lead actor in Mahanati).  Do watch the lively two episode prelude (15 min each) - B&B on Prime Video to know a little more about them.

This part of the movie which is a snooze fest - too much time is spent on pandering to Prabhas's fanbase,  an introductory fight sequence which takes for ever to finish. There are plenty of sequences towards the end where his fans can still go berserk!. Disha Patani (Roxie) (leather thongs and all!) , his girl friend - who lands a job in the Complex, which makes for an absolutely lousy and unnecessary song as well. 

The movie kicks into gear closer to the interval, when DP (SUM-80) (lovely play on her eventual name) is revealed to be pregnant (all the women in the project are "seeded"). She is helped to escape with the help of rebels led by a commander Veeran (Tamil actor Pasupathy) and  Kyra (Anna Ben) . 

This is when the movie, much like the characters in it (including Ashwatthama, who is harbouring a young girl who escapes the Complex raiders) is stirred to the presence of the new being. An Ode to Mose and the Ten commandments is  stirring!

The next quarter of the movie is very "Mad Max" ,  where the bounty hunters are in pursuit of Veeran and his truck carrying SUM-80 , Bhairava being one among them. Ashwatthama is awakened to his true purpose of protecting Maa. His towering 8 feet presence and godly abilities easily overpower all the bounty hunters, Bhairava included.  

The last third of the movie is about how these characters Ashwatthama, Bhairava,  SUM-80, the Supreme Yaskin come closer to realising their true purpose, with a cliffhanger end and a promise of a sequel. 

The film liberally draws themes Dune, Star Wars, BladeRunner, Mad Max, Time, Oblivion (The Complex resembles the "Teth")).  There are sequences in the fights/ slow mos, which draw from 300. However, you have to credit Nagi and his team as they  bring in original ideas ( Kyra's desert cruiser is lovely,  the electro whips (Mariam's weapon) and seamlessly weave mythology into the plot.

This movie will hopefully give an idea to some of the newer generation on Amitabh Bachchan's star power from the 80's! - Nagi does a swell job in giving the original angry young man some heavy duty sequences! Big B's pure language and stunning baritone is such a performance! - The scene when  the 8 footer Ashwatthama is seen carrying about so many men over his head before he throws them away is awesome! His battle sequence with Bhairava (twice) is are very imaginatively done. In fact, his character is the most impactful.

Kamal Hassan gets about 7 mins on screen - his facial expressions and his voice create the sense of dread underlining what a powerful antagonist he could be . Hopefully there is more to look forward to in the next movie(s).

Deepika does well, while her character has barely any emotional depth/backstory, she looks amazing and emotes very well as  Maa, wondering why the entire world is ready to die or kill around her!. 

Prabhas is honestly boring for most of the movie - some streaks of lazy humor are ok, while he really seems to come into his own only in the latter part of the movie. In his recent films,  the one which had some measure of success was Salaar, the movie where he barely spoke and his swagger and slo mos'  were the key -  perhaps that is what directors should continue to tap into. 

Also, post Bahubali, his face definitely seems devoid of freshness,  he looks quite jaded, inspite of being pumped! As mentioned before in this review, i appreciate that Prabhas dubbed for himself in Hindi - an actor's voice also is part of the performance. 

Among the support cast - Anna Ben is lovely and a breeze in her small role. Saswata Chatterjee has fun in playing a devious bad man. Shobhana brings grace and dignity in her short performance. There are plenty of other star cameos (which sadly the reviewers have spoiled). They are fun and cool, do not leave much impact, barring one - which i think may have a backstory in the other movies. 

I felt great pride when i watched the film - the superior Visual Effects (barring the "de aging") , the costumes, production  design, the cinematography are all top notch! The background score by Santosh Narayanan (SaNa) is good, without being great. It is  mercifully devoid of all the LOUD screeching that is being passed as background score today.  The sound design is truly world class - the sequences featuring Kamal Hassan especially. 

This is a movie to be watched on the big screen - it is not perfect, you dont feel the emotions, it meanders quite a bit in the first 40 percent -  but really kicks in the last 60 percent to leave you quite satisfied. 

The last week,  i had written about how Indian film makers can garner the international attention they seek, by telling our stories. What better than our wonderful epics to do so! - Nagi does that well and gives you hope that we can aspire for more!