Kalki 2898 AD

• dark themes surrounding pregnancy, fertility
• starvation

• Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhas, Saswata Chatterjee, Keerthy Suresh…
• Director, Writer: Nag Ashwin
• Music Director: Santhosh Narayan

Set over six hundred years in the future, the story is set in Kaashi. With the impending arrival of Lord Vishnu’s Kaliyuga avatar, war erupts between those wanting to save him and those wanting the existing social hierarchies to stay in place.

• Direction: This movie struggled to balance the makings of a great film and the excitement of innovation. The scenes holding the main plotline were well done, carrying a regular pace. The scenes that could use work were the ones involving Bhairava’s elevations and the extra plotline brought with Roxie. While they have the potential to be entertaining to Prabhas’ fans or people curious about a dystopian Kaashi, they bring down the rewatch value and slow down the storyline.
• Acting: Amitabh Bachchan’s talent shone through with his excellent portrayal of Ashwatthama. Most of the cast readily embodied their characters to make the experience more enjoyable.
• Visual Effects: This movie would not have been possible without this department. Most of the effects that were zoomed out looked clean. But when they showed the inside of the extraction pipes in the fertility lab or the close up of Ashwatthama getting hit with red/yellow shots, it looked cartoonish. While the Complex was always visible and looked amazing, it’s size was inconsistent in relation to the ground. For a place that is supposed to be vast, it doesn’t make sense that you can see so much of it from the ground. The landscapes (shown in the song) fitting on top is questionable unless there is physics bending involved.
• There were also scenes that deserved better production – people in Shambala were clearly animated and needed more work. The shots of Deepika running during the final war and her falling off the bridge looked artificial. Especially her falling off being a catalyst to Karna’s entry – that should have been made better. After setting the standard for the movie with the earlier fight between Bhairava and Ashwatthama, the fight towards the end involving Bhairava/Karna, Ashwatthama and Commander Manas fell flat.
• Production Design: The best set and design was Supreme’s living quarters. The costumes were also clean and added to the depth of entering this world.
• Editing: This is where as a movie, there may have been a lot of improvement. The scenes covering Bhairava were too long and brought lag to the story, especially with the number of slow motion shots. There were a couple transitions in which the setting or timing of the following scene was unclear, causing moments of confusion as the audience caught up.
• Music: Most of the characters had consistent themes that flowed well. Unfortunately, Bhairava’s theme was the one that stood out because it didn’t flow with the feel with the rest of the movie. His theme was also inconsistent with a variety of music being played in his scenes, becoming an unintended distraction.

• Something that would have further immersed the audience in this future world is if there were even more terminology for common words they used
• The first fight had elements that made it look like a video game
• The weaponry was interesting – the weapon that didn’t look as believable as the rest were the white guns; also we probably didn’t need the lightsabers
• It seemed like Roxie, a painful caricature of Tombraider, was introduced so that we could get a tour of what the Complex could look like – this should have been through following Commander Manas or another way if it had to be done; the reveal could’ve also been held off to the next movie with that entire sequence being cut out.
• The best fight was Bhairava vs Ashwatthama during the bounty-hunting sequence for Sumathi
• It doesn’t make sense that Bhairava doesn’t face consequences for trespassing into the Complex but then gets blacklisted for fighting guards – this would’ve also not been a fault if the Roxie sequence didn’t happen
• Someone should’ve been cast as a younger Ashwatthama versus a CGI person, especially as a character with longer screen time than some of the cameos
• The team’s excitement about participating in this project was obvious on the screen. In a time with Telugu cinema becoming a victim to narcissism, money, and patriarchy – movies made out of joy are a refreshing experience
• This movie had multiple commercial elements to it (extended comedy with Bhairava, multiple cameos, Roxie, song in the Complex), which in my opinion, were some of its downfalls. Hopefully, there is a better balance in the sequel.

Yes.

With its push towards new directions in Telugu cinema, fun cameos, and a range of characters – this movie deserves a chance from everyone.

• With Supreme speaking about evolution, I admired the series of skeletons in the walls in his quarters.
• There were multiple references to other franchises
  • Star Wars – similar-looking robots, a character named Luke, lightsabers, and holoprojections used to communicate
  • Transformers – Bujji looks like Bumblebee in Shambala
  • Harry Potter – the tree in Shambala looks like the Whomping Willow, a character named Sirius
• A thought – is there room for creative storylines without ties to religion? Telugu cinema has a history of erasing people who are not Hindu (including people who are not religious). Things to consider –
  • Religion has a considerable influence on art that is passed down through generations (think art in temples that are well preserved versus other mediums)
  • Not only is Hinduism a common theme that comes up in media, it’s usually shown in a positive light, only made fun of at the expense of “overly” religious women doing poojas. This continues to erase the criticism Hinduism deserves – for how ritualistic it has become, its roots and perpetuation of casteism and more.
  • The lines between secular and sacred are often blurred in our media – how do movies like this play into the larger picture?
• Another open question – How much, as an audience, do we value actual actors over animated people? While using AI/CGI may be more convenient, don’t we want to retain the irreplaceable human element that making art with actual people brings?

• Movie Rating: 6/10
• Maguva Impact Scale: +1