<p class="bodytext">‘Kalki 2898 AD’ is a movie which the Indian cinema has been looking forward to. It brought with it the promise of the next level of filmmaking. Set in a dystopian world where humankind is confined to one city, Kasi, ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ merges Hindu mythology with futuristic science fiction. In a battle of good vs evil, we see the stark difference between the people of Kasi and those residing in Shambala, a haven of rebels hoping to save the world.</p>.<p class="bodytext">An ensemble star cast of Prabhas as Bhairava, Amitabh Bachchan as Ashwatthama, Deepika Padukone as Sum-80 aka Sumathi, and Kamal Haasan as Supreme Yaskin promise a lot on paper but have been underutilised. While Prabhas headlines the movie, it is Amitabh Bachchan who is the true star.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The first half is slow, with the introduction of Prabhas dragging forever. With a three-hour runtime, the multiple characters and sub-plots seem unnecessary.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The makers seem to be inspired by Hollywood movies like ‘Dune’, ‘Mad-Max’, ‘The Hunger Games’, ‘Avatar’, ‘Star Wars’, et al, as Bhairava, the righteous yet confused bounty hunter dreams of entering the ‘complex’ by amassing a million ‘units’.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Within the complex, which has a semblance of what the world used to be, there is an ongoing secret project, where fertile women are artificially inseminated. The serum from their wombs sustains Supreme Yaskin.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It falls upon Ashwatthama to protect Sum-80, who escapes from the lab and in whose womb the saviour of the world grows. A standout is the sequences involving him, as we see why he is one of the greatest talents ever.</p>.<p class="bodytext">This mega starrer begins slowly but picks up the pace towards the end, with the promise of an even better sequel.</p>
<p class="bodytext">‘Kalki 2898 AD’ is a movie which the Indian cinema has been looking forward to. It brought with it the promise of the next level of filmmaking. Set in a dystopian world where humankind is confined to one city, Kasi, ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ merges Hindu mythology with futuristic science fiction. In a battle of good vs evil, we see the stark difference between the people of Kasi and those residing in Shambala, a haven of rebels hoping to save the world.</p>.<p class="bodytext">An ensemble star cast of Prabhas as Bhairava, Amitabh Bachchan as Ashwatthama, Deepika Padukone as Sum-80 aka Sumathi, and Kamal Haasan as Supreme Yaskin promise a lot on paper but have been underutilised. While Prabhas headlines the movie, it is Amitabh Bachchan who is the true star.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The first half is slow, with the introduction of Prabhas dragging forever. With a three-hour runtime, the multiple characters and sub-plots seem unnecessary.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The makers seem to be inspired by Hollywood movies like ‘Dune’, ‘Mad-Max’, ‘The Hunger Games’, ‘Avatar’, ‘Star Wars’, et al, as Bhairava, the righteous yet confused bounty hunter dreams of entering the ‘complex’ by amassing a million ‘units’.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Within the complex, which has a semblance of what the world used to be, there is an ongoing secret project, where fertile women are artificially inseminated. The serum from their wombs sustains Supreme Yaskin.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It falls upon Ashwatthama to protect Sum-80, who escapes from the lab and in whose womb the saviour of the world grows. A standout is the sequences involving him, as we see why he is one of the greatest talents ever.</p>.<p class="bodytext">This mega starrer begins slowly but picks up the pace towards the end, with the promise of an even better sequel.</p>