Kalki 2898 AD produced by Aswini Dutt and Vyjayanthi Films has taken the scale of Telugu film making several notches higher with technical brilliance & stellar cast writes Rajeshwari Kalyanam
Velugu Vache Samayam Ayyindi – Kasiki Devudu vache Samayam Ayyindi – the story of Kalki 2898 AD set in future happens in the last surviving city of the world – Kasi where people live in the dystopian world which is sucked of everything good including air, water, greenery and food. It is controlled by the Supreme Yaskin (Kamal Haasan) from his Complex – the inverted pyramid world that is in stark contrast and is epitome of good living with good air and fresh food.
The last of the wars has given control to Complex and it’s army ensures people do not worship God at all and only a select few from the earth get entry into Complex – either if they are recruited to do some work in the Complex for which they are paid in units or if they can pay a million units- which is what it takes to live in Complex.
There is another set that are taken away – fertile women of any age are sold to Complex and they are used in an experiment – the K Project. Supreme is on a look out for a woman who can carry a child for atleast 120 days. In the Complex’s lab is a woman who bears a child and keeps it a secret until the commander finds out and she has to some how escape. And, there is a reason why this child has survived beyond 120 days unlike others.
Meanwhile there are indications every where that something will change. And, it is also the time that Aswathama, the immortal one who has been waiting from the Mahabharata times to fulfil his duty and aid the divine – senses the time has come when God will be taking birth. And, he sets out to protect the mother (Deepika Padukone).
And, this is also who Mariam (Shobana) and the rebels of Sambala are waiting for. (Sambala is the secret haven for rebels waiting for a better tomorrow)
This is the woman for whom Roomi (Rajendra Prasad) comes all the way from Sambala to find and protect her against the Complex guards. This is the woman – mother – who bears God in her womb – the 10th avtar of Vishnu – Kalki who will bring back a better world.
Amidst all this is the bounty hunter Bhairava (Prabhas) the one who never loses a fight, and the mechanic who makes these ingenious automobiles and is the only one who can fight Ashwathama – the immortal one.
He is out to catch the runaway mother in order to win bounty which will confirm his place in Complex which is his ultimate ambition. And he is ready to go to any length to achieve this. Aiding him in this hunt is his Bujji robot & car that he built.
Nag Ashwin sets up his characters, guns, automobiles, sets, animation, vfx against this context effectively bringing together mythology and science fiction to create distinctive Kalki Universe.
He is the king of this Universe and goes all out to stretch his imagination to create a never before format of film making for Telugu and Indian audience. And while doing this he brings in characters and cameos left right and centre (Malvika Nair, Mrunal Thakur, Disha Patani, Harshith Reddy, Brahmanandam, RGV, Rajamouli, Vijay Devarakonda, Dulquer, Anna Ben…) – delighting the audience pan India along side the fantastic gadgets and action sequences as the film progresses to a big reveal that further establishes the mythological connect.
Highlights are many; however one must mention the fantastic faceoffs between Amitabh and Prabhas, Anna Ben shining away in her short role, Shobana who was spectacular no less in her scenes. Keerti Suresh as the voice of Bujji did a good job. Deepika Padukone did not have much to deliver unfortunately.
Music and background score by Santhosh Narayan are a major plus to the film. Slick editing especially for a bunch of scene transitions and shifts are done with finesse. However, the length of 3 + hours with an ending that is short of a poetic justice is now getting pretty tiresome not to mention the promise of a sequel.
That said, Kalki 2898 AD produced by Aswini Dutt and Vyjayanthi Films has taken the scale of Telugu film making several notches higher.
Using an aspect of the content rich story traditions and epics of India to create a technically brilliant science fiction film like Kalki 2898 AD is a masterstroke no less. Nag Ashwin, Swapna Dutt and Priyanka Dutt represent the brave filmmakers of contemporary India. May the tribe thrive and entertain.
