After watching Kalki 2898 AD in 3D, I can’t help appreciating Telugu filmmaker Nag Ashwin for the kind of effort he put into delivering such a visual extravaganza to the audience, especially in the second half. I don’t think Indian cinema has ever seen it before. It’s a mash-up of umpteen references from the West. Star Wars, Mad Max, Blade Runner, Marvel comics..you name it, you have it all. In the first half of Kalki 2898 AD, many of them grace the screen with no apparent coherence with the characters introduced in Kalki Cinematic Universe. Except for the rebel star Prabhas and his robot pilot Bujji, we don’t connect with people walking, sulking, or fighting on the land of Kashi, the dystopian world, film sets in.
The lousy portrayal of the bounty hunter Bhairava (Prabhas) and his rants on the Complex, which sounds a paradise doesn’t seem to work until the beautiful visuals of it get unravelled. I liked that spaceship model and nearly perfect CG sights around it.
The genre of Kalki 2898 AD – sci-fi-mythology mix had lot of potential as the outer world was still curious to have a real flavour of it from the land of epics. However, CG, weaponry, fights and the sheer spirit of the film in the second half preserves this hope ahead for the sequel. Nag has succeeded in creating a visual marvel putting the angry old man, the cursed Ashwatthama Amitabh Bachchan) in focus. Bachchan at 81, with this towering 8-foot stature, pure energy, and rage in fight sequences overshadows everybody else in Kalki 2898 AD. Bhairava, with his transitions part of the story is turning a competitor here.
The supreme of Complex, the great Yaskin (Kamal Haasan) extends strong leads to his major play in the sequel of Kalki 2898 AD.
Female leads of the film are given equal opportunities on the screen including the veteran actress Shobana and a young Anna Ben. Deepika Padukone, as an important figure in the plot graces her lengthy screen time off script.
Yet, it took a while for me to get a footing with the Kalki Cinematic universe.