Kalki 2898 AD: 5 things to know before watching the Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan-starrer

Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD is a dystopian film that combines science fiction and mythology. It’s India’s ‘Avengers moment’, as Rana Daggubati once put it. Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, and Kamal Haasan headline the project, which has high expectations pinned on it. Before watching it in theatres on June 27, here are 5 things to know about the film. (Read Kalki 2898 AD review and release live updates here)

World of Kalki 2898 AD

Kalki 2898 AD is set in a dystopian future where the Ganga has dried, and the people of Kashi struggle for essential resources. In Bujji and Bhairava, people can be seen using oxygen cylinders to breathe, and the city looks grimy. Residents of the Complex, however, seem to have an ample supply of everything. They also seem to be exploiting women to birth babies, if the trailer is anything to go by. The Shambala offers a haven for refugees and rebels who fight against the injustice meted out by the Complex.

Characters of Kalki 2898 AD

Prabhas plays a bounty hunter named Bhairava in Kalki 2898 AD, accompanied by an AI bot named BU-JZ-1, aka Bujji, voiced by Keerthy Suresh. The latter has a three-wheeled vehicle it can control while joining Bhairava on his escapades. The Complex is an aspirational place for both humans and robots. Supreme Yaskin rules it, a sage-like man Kamal plays who seems to have plans to build a new world. Deepika plays SUM-80 or Sumati, named after Kalki’s mother in mythology. Amitabh plays Ashwatthama, cursed for eternity.

Building BU-JZ-1

Bujji’s body is custom-made by Mahindra Research Valley Chennai and Jayem Automotives Coimbatore. It runs on two Mahindra e-motors. TOI reports that the vehicle has a top speed of 45 kmph, customised tyres and a braking system, costing ₹4 crore per vehicle. While Prabhas drives it in the film, the car has also been driven off-screen, most recently by Rishab Shetty. The makers took the initiative to get the audience used to the character and vehicle both, given that it seems to have a large role to play in the movie.

Mahabharat connection

At the Synapse 2024 event in Gurgaon, Nag said that the film begins with Mahabharat and ends in Kali Yug. He said, “Our film starts in Mahabharata and it ends in 2898. That’s the title of the film, it’s called Kalki 2898 AD. It spans 6,000 years of distance and time. So, trying to create worlds that are there here, imagining what it could be like, still keeping it Indian and not making it look like a Blade Runner.” The trailer also confirmed that the Mahabharat episode is bound to have some star cameos, with Malvika Nair playing Uttara.

Ashwatthama’s curse

Ashwatthama’s story seems crucial to Kalki 2898 AD, especially given that the character seems to protect SUM-80 and her unborn child from harm in the trailer. Ashwatthama is cursed by Krishna to roam the forests until the end of Kali Yuga with blood and pus oozing out of his injuries. He was also made to surrender the gem on his forehead for turning his Brahmastra towards Uttara’s unborn child and trying to end the Pandavas’ lineage. Kalki 2898 AD seems to give him some redemption finally.