Kalki 2898 AD - Movie Review

‘Kalki 2898 AD’ is a 2024 Telugu-language Sci-fi film directed by Nag Ashwin. It is dystopian film that is inspired from Indian mythological stories. 

The movie is set, as the title suggests, in the year 2898 Ad. It is a post-apocalyptic world ruled by the Supreme Yaskin, who hoards all the wealth in place called ‘Complex’. It is a place where people live comfortably, whereas people outside struggle in their extreme circumstances. They haven’t seen real trees, fruits or flowers and even water is scarcely available. But the limited higher class people live in luxury. This is reminiscent of many dictatorial regimes from human history. It shows a world that reminds us of George Orwell’s ‘1984’.

In this world, all the fertile women are kept in a lab and are experimented upon for the gain of their leader. Here the important dystopian theme of dehumanisation is seen. It also reminds of other such dystopian narratives like “The handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood.

One such woman who escaped from the lab in a Khaleesi like manner is Sumati, played by Deepika Padukone. She plays the role of mother of Kalki (The 10th avatar of god Vishnu, whose arrival is foretold in ancient texts). 

It comes as no surprise that Amitabh Bachchan is truly remarkable in his performance. He played the cursed immortal Ashwatthama, awaiting the arrival of Kalki. He portrayed the intensity of the character with extreme grace. He was iconic in his fight sequences, to the point that the theatre erupted in whistles at his punches. 

Bhairava, played by Prabhas is a character that comes off as annoying (at least in the first half of the film) and a copy of Guardians of the Galaxy’s Star Lord. He’s unbearable to such an extent that every time he appears on screen, it disrupts the flow of the narrative. His comedic gags that are not funny and stretched out fight sequences with irritating background music are difficult to sit through. Even his flashback scene, which should have made an emotional connection with the audience and establish the dog eat dog philosophy of this time, is not that impactful. 

This however, changes in the second half of the film and his character arc goes through remarkable development.

The movie does a striking job in its VFX. They are well made and do not come off as artificial.

Although, the de-aging of Amitabh Bachchan was not properly done and it made the frames  look animated. Despite this, however, some of the most memorable moments of the film are these, the scenes depicting Mahabharata. 

Another good decision was not revealing the face of Shri Krishna, as it maintains a sort of mystery and saves the film from backlash. 

The movie features many cameos, some of them are impactful and entertaining while others seem pointless. Vijay Deverakonda shines as Prince Arjun, while Disha Patani’s Roxie was ineffectual and did not contribute to the movie. The most entertaining of the cameos, however, is that of director Rajamouli, who warns Prabhas that if he caught him again he’ll not let go of him for 10 years (hinting at the long shooting period of their iconic Bahubali films).

In conclusion, the film is well made and is quite amusing with a fresh new concept. It ends on a cliffhanger, exciting the audience for part two.