KALKI 2898
KALKI 2898 : MOVIE REVIEW
2.5 STARS/5 (Above Average)
DIRECTOR, CO-WRITER - NAG ASHWIN
Release June 2024. Telugu, Hindi (English subtitles available)
AMITABH BACHCHAN VERSUS PRABHAS
HALKI STORY, KALKI ACTION
One of those very rare films where the sequel promises to be more exciting than the current one... Nag Ashwin's post-apocalyptic hellscape, hyper-linked to war strands from Mahabharata, rocks with action but struggles to achieve its ambition thanks to its paper-thin dramatic narrative.
Undoubtedly there is inspiration and potential here. We have seen these futuristic warring worlds from Hollywood a million times but Co-writer-Director Nag Ashwin takes the bold step of chaining to its heart, the Indian mythological undertow with its vastly under-depicted epiphanies. Pic fires on all cylinders in an extended chase sequence which marvelously pits Amitabh Bachchan Vs Prabhas - Bachchan catapulted by sci-fi wizardry into being an indestructible warrior, Prabhas an action superstar with his Bheem-Hercules persona. The action-powered finale is even better. But while touches from American classics are borrowed liberally, a strong sparkling storyline - hearteningly evidenced in Indian tech-fantasies from 'Enthiran' to 'Bahubali Part 2' - is disappointingly absent.
The film was primarily shot in Telugu, with the Hindi version also widely available and although my knowledge of Telugu is limited, I chose to watch it in this language so as to appreciate it in its original flavour (the English subtitles helped, of course). The Auckland audience around me, mostly Telugu, clapped and whooped with joy when Prabhas was introduced, along with certain other well-known actors, but the applause died down for most of the picture.
Pic kicks off with some riveting angles from Mahabharata - Ashwatthama (son of Dronacharya) and an enigmatic figure who is later revealed to be... Cut to 2898 where humanity has shown what it is very capable of - wiping off the whole world and leaving in its wake, treeless walled-in settlements which pass for cities. Bhairava (Prabhas) is a young bounty hunter with a seemingly casual and fun-loving attitude, who can kick major ass when needed. He sports a rough-'n'-tough car-bike hybrid vehicle 'Bujji' which even smartly talks and passes comments for handy comic effect.
The villains dwell in a monstrous inverted pyramid structure that towers above this city called Kasi (if this is Kashi, then only Lord Yama can imagine what Mumbai would look like). The Satan-squad comprises a pudgy-jowled Commander Manas (Saswata Chatterjee) and a levitating figure in a high hell-chamber propped up by cables, his 90 year old shrivelled face evoking a desi Lord Voldemort in his terminal days (Kamal Hassan playing Supreme Yaskin). Their job is to terrorize the people and abduct young pregnant ladies so that their uterine contents can be extracted for Devil-knows-what. There Will Be Blood In Dystopia - There Will Be One Pregnant Chosen Lady who will escape this mass murder, with half the town chasing her across the desert, each with their own agendas.
The second half is salvaged by two excellent action sequences, but the first half is just skeletal in its story-telling gravitas and this narrative anaemia plagues the whole picture. Inspiration reigns in an animated sequence depicting injustice and suffering that opens the movie. But outside of the action, the shot-taking for any given sequence lacks the power and tension that distinguishes excellent cinema. When Bhairava has his first fight with facial mask-wearing 'Bane'- like thugs, that sequence should have exploded with action quality that would make Hollywood proud, but it is a klutzy, shoddily choreographed hash. Commander Manas is malevolent but there is little to fear in his baby-faced persona and soft delivery. The alpha villain 'Supreme Yaskin' looks terrible alright but the chill factor is again missing in the depiction. Deepika Padukone is a superstar but the charm and star quality is totally missing in her totally spineless act - she is sleep-walking and so is Nag Ashwin in directing this multi-crore performer.
'Kalki 2898' is also shamefully shy in pushing the Indian envelope for nudity in films. Ashwin nicely borrows from the fantastic sequence in Game of Thrones Season 1 when we see what the fires eventually do to Daenerys Targaryen - amongst the greatest sequences in all of TV and cinema. Here, when Deepika's character Sumathi emerges from the fires which burn away her clothes, she is naked but her hands and arms shield her breasts to cover it from view. You want to show nudity, but at the same time you don't want to show nudity ! Make up your mind ! Ashwin and his producer Vyjayanthi Movies obviously work in a repressed country with a ridiculous Censor Board. And admittedly, nudity and sex in films is never easy to depict no matter which country you're filming in and for. But the audience is again treated as infantile morons - to supposedly upkeep our Indian culture. The freely procreating country has added 400 million in just 2 decades but we pretend nudity and sex do not exist in our cinema !
The promo team should release a little booklet for handy reference of the sheer number of Hollywood borrowing here - the inversion of roles from one birth to another is taken from Terminator 1 & 2. The post-apocalyptic sepia demi-monde comes from Mad Max, Star Wars, Dune - take your pick. Cables going into Supreme Yaskin's body are plugged in from 'The Matrix', not to mention the Game of Thrones sequence as above, and Gandalf from Lord of The Rings influencing Ashwatthama's white-haired hero-sage persona. Lots of homages, which I tend to excuse as the special effects really pick up as the film motors on.
The Rs. 600 crore budget (USD 75 million, with a lion's share set apart for Prabhas' salary), I am happy to report, has been well utilized for the special effects, which after initial disappointment, peak with Amitabh Bachchan's mythic character guarding a fleeing Sumathi. Bachchan is a grand 81 this year but the marvel of special effects makes him a giant sage-like figure from Indian mythology, transported to a dystopian future, as his body blitzes along at magic speed, heroically fighting dozens of attackers as he guards the lady inside a racing vehicle. The finale, with an aircraft and a bridge, also succeeds with thrilling shades of an unexpected hero emerging. It is a triumph for Indian cinema's ability in world class special effects. Nag Ashwin and the CGI team - Prime Focus DNEG and The Embassy Visual Effects - should take a salute for their ability to cleanly synthesize, guide and deliver smooth special effects in the movie's latter stages.
But the monstrous-for-Indian cinema Rs.600 crore budget (the most expensive Indian film to date) also means the profit targets are high. Too often, story-spinners will say 'this is the highest grossing film' when the earnings have barely exceeded the budget. As a rough rule of thumb, a movie should earn at least three times its budget to be considered financially successful. Baahubali 2 The Conclusion earned Rs.1700 crore against its Rs.250 crore budget - a 7 times return on investment. Last year's 'Animal' earned Rs.917 crore against its Rs.100 crore budget - a 9 times return in assessment (R.O.I). For just 3 times R.O.I, Kalki 2898 will need to earn Rs.1800 crore - a very tall target which only two Indian films have ever achieved (Dangal and Baahubali 2).
The film's biggest inspiration - Amitabh Bachchan Vs Prabhas - pays off handsomely and it is great to see these two larger-than-life movie personas squaring off in CGI fight paradise. With solid action and SFX choreography eventually slamming in, all they need to do is to not look like wimps and that they do magnificently ! Prabhas is excellent in his low-demand role of a casual-fun persona eventually towering into something else. Who would have thought that one of Amitabh Bachchan's most thrilling roles would be that of a rampaging action hero at a real-life age of 81 ?! The director of the female-centric 'Mahanati' (2018) forgets memorable female roles here, among other things. But to give credit to Nag Ashwin where it is due, he generates a Bujji-load of combustible potential. For the next installment in 'Kalki Cinematic Universe', one hopes the high quality action is appropriately spliced and drizzled with solid narrative chops.
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