Nag Ashwin‘s ambitious sci-fi film “Kalki 2898 AD” has become a box office phenomenon, grossing over $84 million worldwide and debuting at No. 3 globally. With an estimated budget of $72 million, it’s one of the most expensive Indian films ever made.
Set in a dystopian future, “Kalki 2898 AD” follows Bhairava (Prabhas), a powerful warrior with mysterious origins. As he navigates a world ravaged by war and environmental destruction, Bhairava becomes entangled in an ancient prophecy. Amitabh Bachchan plays Ashwatthama, an immortal being from the era of Indian mythological epic “Mahabharata,” while Deepika Padukone portrays Sumathi, a character who is pregnant with the unborn Kalki, an avatar of Vishnu. Kamal Haasan takes on the role of the antagonist Supreme Yaskin. The film blends elements of Indian mythology with futuristic technology, culminating in epic battles that span both physical and spiritual realms.
The concept for “Kalki 2898 AD” began taking shape after Ashwin’s previous film “Mahanati” (2018), a biopic of 1950s/60s Indian actor Savitri, though he says the fascination with blending mythological elements and sci-fi had been percolating for years. “I’ve always wanted to make something that combines the ‘Mahabharata’ battles from old Telugu black-and-white films with worlds like ‘Star Wars’ and ‘X-Men,’” Ashwin tells Variety.
“In those black-and-white films, they’d show these arrows being exchanged in ‘Mahabharata’ battles,” Ashwin recalls of classic Telugu cinema. “One arrow would become fire, the other would become water, one would become a snake and the other would become an eagle. I always found that really cool.”
Produced by C. Aswani Dutt, Swapna Dutt and Priyanka Dutt for 50-year-old Indian banner Vyjayanthi Movies, bringing Ashwin’s expansive vision to life proved complex. “To be honest, for all of us, we didn’t really know what we were trying to achieve when we started off,” Ashwin says. “Only when we got into it and started trying to be very authentic in design and achieve these kinds of action sequences did we realize the scale and complexity of this world.”
The production utilized VFX houses across India and internationally, with the Kurukshetra battle sequence — the centerpiece of the “Mahabharata” — being particularly time-intensive. “We really started out with the idea that we should try to do everything in India,” Ashwin says. “But finally, we ended up using two or three foreign companies as well.”
For Ashwin, the biggest challenge was maintaining his mindset over the four-year production period. “As a director and writer, it was holding perspective and judgment of that script you’d written in 2020 when you’re shooting something in 2023 or 2024,” he says. “You still need to have that bigger picture in your mind that you started off with.”
A highlight for the director was filming the confrontation between Amitabh Bachchan and Prabhas. “Seeing Mr. Bachchan, the original action hero, and Prabhas, this generation’s action hero, both of them go at it,” he says. “Coming up with these action sequences for them was just the most surreal thing, and the fact that it’s probably the biggest takeaway from the movie for most people is very satisfying.”
The film reveals that Prabhas’ character Bhairava is a reincarnation of Karna from the “Mahabharata,” a warrior who faces helpless circumstances in the epic. Elaborating on this choice, Ashwin says, “Karna always felt unfinished to me. A warrior like that needed redemption, needed the last chapter.”
“Both Ashwatthama and Karna, the whole ‘Mahabharata’ is not really about good and bad as such, it’s just about people in circumstances where they have to choose,” he adds. “These guys chose to be on the wrong side, so maybe the redemption is to fight on the other side in this yuga [age].”
While “Kalki 2898 AD” ends with the promise of a larger cinematic universe, Ashwin clarified that the immediate focus is on Part 2. “We shot about 25 or 30 days, but there’s a lot of action still left. It’s almost like a whole new production that’s going to start,” he reveals.
Regarding the sequel’s plot, Ashwin teases, “Every loose end or thread that we left hanging has to be wrapped up. Obviously, the most important thing will be the face-off between these three, which will be between Yaskin who can now wield the Gandiva, which is thought to be the most powerful weapon, versus Karna and Ashwatthama, who are the most fearsome warriors.”
Two more episodes of Prime Video’s animated “B&B: Bujji and Bhairava,” set two years before the events of “Kalki 2898 AD,” are being completed, concluding the four-episode miniseries.
As “Kalki 2898 AD” continues its successful run, Ashwin is ecstatic about the audience reception. “Definitely it was going to be a big opener, because of the star cast and because of the way that trailer was received,” he says. “But there was also a little bit of apprehension, because a sci-fi film is always met with a question because it’s not something we’re [Indians] used to. And it’s not also a regular commercial film in terms of what Prabhas fans are also used to.”
He adds, “We’re extremely happy and grateful that people have accepted the film for what it is fully and have been watching it multiple times. That’s really the barometer of whether a movie is successful.”
Regarding international expansion, Ashwin confirmed talks are underway for a Japanese release in the second half of this year, while a Chinese release date is yet to be determined. “Japan has been a proven market for the previous films of Prabhas,” he says. “I think the Japanese fans would fully love this kind of film.”
