Kalki 2898 AD Review: A Flawed Spectacle That Delivers An Immersive Sci-fi World

Writer and Director: Nag Ashwin

Cast: Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone, Disha Patani, Keerthy Suresh

Duration: 181 minutes

Available in: Theatres

Here is a film that functions as a vehicle for its meticulously-realized world. Its aesthetics are undoubtedly derived from sci-fi staples—we get the red and blue laser beams and lightsabers from Star Wars, the neon-inflected urban cityscapes of Blade Runner, and the desert chases of Mad Max. But the film’s production design and art direction innovate atop these inspirations and alchemize them into something unique: I doubt that there has been an Indian film of this scale this committed to the genre—unlike Salaar, the star and the fixtures of the star-vehicle take a back seat to the genre and its world. 

Kalki 2898 AD is set in a dystopian Kasi in which the Ganga has all but dried up, and rain, greenery, and food are in scarce supply. Over the city hovers a mysterious inverse pyramid called “Complex” which houses the wealthy elite. The militia that guards the Complex acts much like an invading force, rounding up fertile women for mysterious purposes at the behest of the evil Supreme Yaskin (Kamal Haasan). Bounty hunters and others scrounge to make a living, dreaming of making enough to make it to the Complex some day, while a rebellion brews silently.

Given the wealth of details, the film doesn’t quite know how to go about introducing us to it. For a significant part of its first half, Kalki 2898 AD fails to build momentum as it intercuts between subplots introducing various facets of the world. Characters like Rajendra Prasad’s Rumi and Disha Patani’s Roxie enter and exit the film and we wonder why the film has chosen such a meandering route to introduce the world and its principal characters.

Prabhas’ Bhairava stands out amidst the film’s roster of one-note characters—a Han Solo-esque goofy, laidback bounty hunter whose relationship with his droid-run car, Bujji (voiced by Keerthy Suresh) is as fun as it is endearing. This is Prabhas in Bujjigaadu territory, his quips are timed well, and we get to see him dance to, and then fight to a rendition of the Bhagwad Geeta. Amitabh Bachchan’s mythological Ashwatthama is much more about presence than depth—think Kattappa from Baahubali but with superpowers (his story in the Mahabharata is much more interesting than what we get here). Deepika Padukone’s performance salvages a woefully underwritten Sumati, and makes for one of the film’s more memorable moments. I also really enjoyed Shobana as Mariyam, the heroic leader of the rebellion.

If you’re patient with the early sections, the film offers several rewards: its action sequences are thrilling and imaginative, particularly one that personifies a battle between the two genres the film is constantly straddling—science-fiction and the mythological. Given South Indian action’s reliance on slow-mo brawn, it’s refreshing to see action sequences with momentum, in which characters look to outwit and out-maneuver each other. There’s wit, charm, and a wealth of stars making cameos—perhaps the most since Om Shanti Om. In its closing stretches, the film has its characters making morally gray decisions, all culminating in a spectacular showdown that channels some of the mythological verve of SS Rajamouli. 

(It’s also perhaps noteworthy that the mythological themes do not come off as chauvinistic, with references to various religions and cultures, despite the moorings being fundamentally Hindu and its themes being somewhat revivalist.)

This is all to say that the world-building, the visual design, and the action in the film outstrip its writing which veers into the generic—we get wafer-thin villains with weak motivations, albeit ones with great character design, and telegraphed death scenes. What is also disappointing is the writing of the women—this is a film in which the good guys seem as intent as the bad guys in reducing a woman’s value to her reproductive function. A major complaint I had was with the Telugu dialogue and its delivery from several actors (or their dubbing artists) which threaten to sink several scenes: here be the perils of Pan Indian cinema. This is also very much a Part One—an incomplete story that leaves several threads hanging for its sequel to resolve.

And yet there’s so much here that’s new, bold, and audacious. Kalki 2898 AD is unlike any of the post Baahubali mega budget films—there’s real imagination on display here, and an abundance of ideas competing with each other for space in its packed three hour runtime. The marriage of mythology and science-fiction shouldn’t work as well as it does, but the attention to detail in crafting a world where the two can meet makes it work. Endure its flaws, make sure you watch it in 2D, and there’s a lot of fun to be had.