Kalki 2898 AD: The Alternate Review

A lot of time is spent on giving us the background of the story and establishing the characters but the film is named Kalki and the man is not even born, notes A Ganesh Nadar.

Director Nag Ashwin is definitely a fan of Star Wars, and we see that in his latest film, Kalki 2898 AD, in the desolate landscape and the rebels. Instead of a talking robot, we have a talking car.

An incident in the Mahabharat is the basis for this story.

Ashwatthama, the son of Dronacharya, is immortal. When he fires the Brahmastra and Arjuna counters with the equally lethal Pasupatiastra, both with catastrophic qualities, Krishna asks them to recall the weapons as mankind's existence was at stake.

Arjuna does so but Ashwatthama does not know how to.

Krishna then redirects the Brahmastra towards Uttara’s womb carrying the Pandava heir. She delivers a dead child, who Krishna later goes on to revive.

In the movie, this scene ends with the Brahmastra strike on Uttara.

Krishna curses Ashwatthama that he will always roam the earth begging for death, and pulls out his third eye which conferred mystical powers on Ashwatthama.

Cut to the future, a thousand years from now (hence the 2898 AD in the title).

Deepika Padukone is pregnant in a laboratory, and is said to be carrying the divine child. She escapes from the villain’s lab.

The villain, played by a weird-looking prosthetic Kamal Haasan, has created his own floating world in the air, complete with forests, rivers, buildings and roads. Called Complex, it is isolated from Earth, which is devoid of water and oxygen.

Deepika is helped by rebels, who unlike the ones in Star Wars, are better organised, armed and disciplined.

Dulquer Salman plays a cameo as Prabhas’s father. 

The crux of the story is that the villain aka Supreme has subdued the world and created his own. The Earthlings can go there to work but have to return after the job is done.

Prabhas plays a bounty hunter, who kidnaps people to deliver to the villain who pays him in Units. It reminds me of the currency in the film, In Time.

The movie starts when Amitabh Bachchan, playing Ashwatthama, wakes up after a 6,000-year slumber. When he is cursed, Ashwatthama asks Krishna how he will get a pardon. Krishna tells him that in his next and last avatar, he can serve him and that will lead to his salvation.

Disha Pattani is still in Yodha mode, and does some action. But I can't help but wonder why she's even in the film. All she does is get Prabhas into the Complex.

Ashwatthama wakes up in time to help Deepika, who is close to delivering her baby.

He has a sidekick, a young boy, who happens to carry the third eye, which Ashwatthama fixes back with pleasure.

He regains his powers and that helps him protect Deepika from attacks.

The head of the rebel town is Shobana, a mother-like leader till she has to defend Deepika. Then she transforms into an Angeline Jolie! 

Prabhas clashes with Ashwatthama, as he wants Deepika for the bounty.

The young boy with Amitabh asks him, 'How can he be a better fighter than you?'

'There was a better fighter than me in the Mahabharat,' Amitabh replies.

'Arjuna?' the young boy asks.

'Not Arjuna, but my friend Karna,' he replies.

So we learn that Prabhas is a reincarnation of Karna. Why he does what he does, is left for the promised sequel.

The movie thus ends with you wondering what will happen next. A lot of time is spent on giving us the background of the story and establishing the characters but the film is named Kalki and the man is not even born.

Music by Santhosh Narayanan has no recall value. He does a better job with the background music.