Kalki 2898 AD Movie Review — Sucharita Tyagi

Superhero, mythology, futuristic tech, religion, dystopia, Punjabi gaane, storm-trooper.

Sab. In a galaxy far-far confused.

Mahabharat ki mythological kahaaniyaan lekar film banana is a mammoth challenge but I would imagine a tempting one because the epic lends itself to adaptation in the most amazing, malleable ways. Futuristic banaa do by adding nuclear warfare, contemporary banaa do Rajneeti ki tarah. Shyam Benegal Kalyug banaayi thi and ofcourse tarah tarah ki direct filmein, TV shows.

And because of how vast this epic is, adapt karte huye imagination jitni dishaaon mein daudaana chaahte ho, mumkin hai.

Now, Kalki 2898 AD, isn’t an interpretation of the Mahabharat per say, par Nag Ashwin has pivoted from ONE moment and spun many tales in many directions.

I was recently talking about this agar aapne video dekha ho ki science fiction kyun banana aur dekhna itna pasand hai humein. Kyunki ek behtar future ki kalpana kar sakte hain is genre ke maadhyam se. Joh problems aaj hain, aur tezi se badhti hui dikh rahi hain, unse jhoojhne ke upaay jab nahi haath mein ho, toh imagine karke manifest karne ki koshish hoti hai science fiction mein. Smugglers aur corruptions se aam aadmi ko bachata hai Mr India, Matrix mein joh AI aur meta verse jaisi cheezon ki chetavaniyaan thi, ab aankhon kea age sach hoti dikh rahi hain.

Aise mein, the central conflict of a film like Kalki, is seemingly drawing parallels with a liberal society’s warnings of an upcoming anarchic state jahaan fascist aur repressive, all-powerful governments ke khilaaf ladne ke liye underground militias ki zaroorat padne hi waali hai. The film makes it a point to tell you ki this in fact is happening on our Earth. An early montage shows you all the evils rampant is duniya mein, kuch log nazi salute kar rahe hain, kuch deforestation ki wajah se bhookhe marr rahe hain, aur kuch gunde bachon aur auraton ko uthaa kar le jaa rahe hain. The squelching of a green leaf and a flower underfoot, a clear metaphor for the destruction of nature and innocence in a war-torn world, the rallying cry of the resistance group called “The Rebels” is “For tomorrow”. Yaani iss film mein humanity is kagaar par hai ki shastra uthaane padd rahe hain laws aur legalities ke khilaaf. Toh terrorist kahe jaayenge ye ya swantrata senani?

However, despite inadvertently raising these questions, I’m not sure Kalki 2898 AD really WANTS to. The screenplay is unclear ki iss sab ka end goal kya hai. Granted this is only the 1st part of a proposed franchise, the overused and frankly now outdated term “cinematic universe” is flashed boldly as end credits role, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure what this 3-hour long film was saying, or trying to make me feel.

Dekho film hai ambitious attempt at a dystopian epic, but every idea it conceives is thrown at its viewers with brute force, without much care to put it in a cohesive narrative that breathes and expands with any rhythm.

Mahabharat ke yudh ke scenes mein Amitabh Bachchan is kadar de-aged hain ki the sequence looks like it might be animated, until you realize it’s not as other actors show up to deliver dialogue. Oh and yes, people keep showing up kaafi periodically — directors, actors, guest appearances that are so unserious, they take you out of the film and remind you how much this feels like watching a 2018 super-hero Guardians Of Galaxy -esque film. Chaos and destruction ka promise hai, par yakaa yak characters break into song. Diljit Dosanjh ka Punjabi number cuts away to serene French melody abruptly. Notably in one extended, and entirely inexplicable sequence, Disha Patani and Prabhas sneak on-to the top floor of the inverted pyramid that’s known as the Complex. Here they find a paradise, mountains, fruit laden trees and beaches. As Disha returns from a sexy swim, the two chance upon discarded fancy clothes. They also magically find a car type vehicle and a gala to go to, mind your within 10 seconds. One would imagine these renegades would know not to draw attention to themselves, but aur bas 5 second mein aadat se majboor hero-heroine hamaare choreographed dance mein sab ko lead karne lagte hain, are caught, and thrown out. This btw is the last we see of Disha.

The film winks at you too much, unclear whether it wants to be taken seriously or not.

In a post-apocalyptic film, the natural progression would be, that now we know this paradise exists, how to return this abundance to its rightful hakdaar, the common janta. However iss conflict par film pohonchne mein interested nahi dikhti aur poori tarah divert ho jaate hain hum Ashwathama ki resurgence ki ore. Kaise yeh 6000 saal purana mahapurush laut aaya hai, ek garbhvati aurat ko bachaane, for reasons you’ll find out. While Bhairava the bounty hunter also wants this woman, to win his prize money, sab ke raaste judne mein waqt aur Deepika Padukone dono zaya ho gayi. Ek interview mein Nag Ashwin ne kahaa ki Deepika ka role as the aforementioned garbhavati mahila is “something no mainstream lead has done before and will be quite a surprise for everyone.” Sorry to break this to you, this statement is far from the truth.

Let alone no other mainstream lead, khud Deepika has played a woman caught between powerful men interested in regulating control over female bodies. Unfortunately for the most part, the actor is relegated to looking confused, scared, and helpless, as the world around her crumbles. Dare I say, Kalki might have been a bigger waste of her time and immense talent than Fighter was.

Things get interesting when Saswata Chatterjee’s unintentionally hilarious take on a fascist commander gives way to Kamal Hasan who is Supreme Yaskin. I don’t know what the word means but it sounds like Yas Queen and I’m here for it kyunki Kamal Hasan provides some of the film’s more compelling moments. However, WHO Yaskin is, how he got to be in the state he’s in and what HIS goals are, are secrets Part 1 refuses to reveal. The film expects us to accept the barren world as a given, assuming we’ve seen enough apocalyptic movies to fill in the gaps. Yet, the lack of clarity about what’s at stake if Yaskin wins is frustrating. We are told repeatedly that stopping Yaskin is crucial. But like, WHY? Ashwathama ko Sumathi ko bachana hai, to what end?

Undeniably scenes, moments aur visuals derivative hain of kaafi kuch you’ve seen before. Dune ke spice ki jagah Indian cinema ka masala hai lekin. If that’s your jam, dekh aayein theatre mein lagi hai!

So, on a scale of 1 to 10, Kalki 2898 AD is…..1 Anna Ben, who I last saw in Ps Vinothraj’s incredible Kottukali at Berlin, is impressive as a lady rebel Kyra, par unko bhi lamba monologue bolne diye hai about the beauty of love and partnership, which so obviously is ONLY a set up for the rest of the sequence, tragically basic.