This photo was shared on Instagram. (courtesy: nagi_fanpage)
Mumbai:
Kalki 2898 AD The film has been praised for combining elements of the Mahabharata with science-fiction and director Nag Ashwin, who is already working on a sequel to the film, is confident that Indian mythological stories, if told correctly, can match the complexity of the Western superhero genre.
Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Prabhas and Deepika Padukone, the film has become a money-spinner at the box office at a time when big-budget films have failed.
When asked if Kalki 2898 A.D. is India’s answer to Marvel and DC Studios’ superhero films in Hollywood, Nag Ashwin told PTI, “I don’t know if it’s the answer or not, but we definitely have the stories and the depth, complexity and heroism that any other Marvel or DC film has. We just have to go deeper into it and tell it the right way. If we tell it in the way that today’s generation is accustomed to, maybe mix it with science-fiction, I think that would be the right way. And it has really worked because people now feel that it’s our story.”
Set in the futuristic city of Kashi (Varanasi), the story revolves around Bachchan’s immortal warrior Ashwatthama, who is trying to protect the next incarnation of Lord Vishnu, raised by Padukone’s Sumati. Prabhas’ Bhairava, a bounty hunter, is sent to find her by Haasan’s antagonist Supreme Yaskin.
He said that a sequel to “Kashi 2898 A.D.” is already in the works. He said that it will be an extension of the story, which feels familiar and fresh.
“They’ve seen these familiar tropes in ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel movies, but it’s still in Kashi. It still has an auto on its roads. It’s like all the worlds have come together… You don’t want to feel derivative, you don’t want to feel like it’s Blade Runner. It should look like Kashi, not like Tokyo.” Some of the film’s visuals have been compared to recent Hollywood futuristic films, be it the “Mad Max” movies or “Dune.”
However, the director said that apart from the desert scenes, there were no similarities between his film and the two Hollywood films.
“I love ‘Star Wars’ … there must be something subconscious about it. The other movies don’t have that, except our movie has a desert and ‘Dune’ and ‘Mad Max’ have deserts.”
“Also, it has nothing to do with the story, technology or design. Having the funny robot sidekick (Bhairav’s AI car Bujji) was probably a ‘Star Wars’ thing. Maybe making the vehicles look old and rusty was also an aesthetic,” he added.
Ashwin, who has been associated with the story for over five years, said the film’s box office success – which has crossed the Rs 700 crore mark globally – has come with “relief and gratitude” as the team has given a lot for it over the years.
Like any other child growing up in the country, the director said he too was familiar with the characters of Mahabharata through books and the famous 1988 serial, but he read the entire book when he started working on the film.
Ashwin said this epic is better than “our best stories” because even the weakest characters have a strong back story and depth. “I always wanted to reimagine it for our generation and also retain the simplicity. For example, these people are not wearing any crowns. It’s a small thing but I found that wearing a crown while going to war would be impractical. The armour is also designed differently,” he said.
The idea behind creating the story was to evoke the “sense of wonder” that he felt as a child when he was first introduced to stories, said the director, who previously directed the National Award-winning “Mahanati”.
“If I had watched it as a kid, I would have had a lot of questions about vehicles and other things. I just wanted to make it for this generation.” Asked if the anger inherent in Bachchan’s character is a tribute to the ‘angry young man’ characters he played in the 70s, Ashwin said it must have come subconsciously.
“But Ashwatthama was known to have a short temper and was a fierce warrior. All these things came together and Bachchan sir was a perfect fit for the role.” Bachchan was the first among the cast to hear the story and the megastar had many questions.
“I think he was the first person I actually narrated (the script) to in its raw and rudimentary form. He completely understood what it was but he wasn’t sure how we would pull it off. He said, ‘You are showing me all these things and pictures but how will you do this? How is this possible?’ So, it took him some time to believe.” Hassan also needed some convincing to play the role of Supreme Yaskin.
He said, “We went back and forth several times. By the time we spoke to Kamal sir, we had already shot part of the film… Kamal sir is always up for doing something new and challenging. So, we had to narrate the story several times to make sure. He’s the villain, so he just had to make sure that we knew what we were doing.”
“Kalki 2898 AD”, which is reportedly made on a budget of Rs 600 crore, was a difficult film to make as the script itself went through 11-12 drafts and took a year.
“This film was difficult both to make and to write. Forget the actors, it’s always difficult to write a screenplay when you have so many characters, to create a world and what not and you try to pack it all into a feature film.” Produced by Vyjayanthi Movies, the film released on June 27 in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and English. PTI KKP BK RDS BK BK
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
