‘Kalki 2898 AD’: When Kamal Haasan told Amitabh Bachchan he wants to play a bad guy in a movie

Legendary actor Kamal Haasan, who plays the antagonist in Kalki 2898 AD, says he was craving to play a bad man on the screen and is glad he got the opportunity through the futuristic drama. Kalki 2898 AD, produced by Vyjayanthi Movies, will hit the sreens worldwide on June 27, 2024.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the film features top movie stars such as Amitabh Bachchan as the immortal Ashwatthama and Prabhas as Bhairava, an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Kamal Haasan plays the role of Supreme Yaskin in Kalki 2898 AD, directed by Nag Ashwin. The film also stars Deepika Padukone as Sumathi.

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“I was (telling) backstage to Amit ji (Bachchan) about how I always wanted to play a bad man because the bad man gets to do all the good things. When the heroes are singing romantic songs and waiting for the heroine, he (bad guy) can just go ahead and do what he wants.

“I thought I’m going to play the bad man so it’s going to be fun. But then, he (Ashwin) wanted it to be different. I’m almost like a sage in the film with a bad idea,” Kamal Haasan told reporters here at a promotional event of the film on Wednesday.

Speaking about his menacing bald look in the film, the veteran star said the idea was to do something that had not been explored before.

"We wanted it (the look) to not look like something else that I had done already or somebody else has done already. I thought I've a fantastic idea and I had not seen any images of the film, so I thought I would dress myself up in such a way that people would turn around and look at me.

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"I was like, 'I'll do research', and I got to know that, 'Amit ji is doing it (the film)'. Then I thought, I'll come with armour, I was told, 'Prabhas has got that'. I didn't want to be pregnant in the film (referring to Padukone's character Sumathi), otherwise I would've tried that as well. With a good director, even that would've been possible," the 69-year-old actor said.

Amitabh Bachchan said filmmaker Nag Ashwin has gone beyond what has been done in the film industry to craft a futuristic story.

"When Nag (Ashwin) came and explained the idea to me, I was thinking it was absolutely something outrageous. It's just unbelievable to have somebody conceive a project which is so futuristic," Bachchan told reporters here at the event.

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The actor said Nag Ashwin surprised the team at every turn by getting “all the material, all the effects, every kind of visual” to realise his vision. “To have worked in a setup where they’ve gone beyond what most of us have been doing all our lives in this film industry... I appreciate the fact that we’re moving a little ahead of the times.”

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Mom-to-be Deepika Padukone made a stunning appearance at the event. The Piku actress looked stylish in an all-black dress that highlighted her baby bump. During the event, host Rana Daggubati introduced Deepika and jokingly asked if she was still in her character. Deepika laughed and replied, “The movie went on for about three years. So I was like, why not? Just three months more.”

When asked about her experience working in Kalki 2898 AD, Deepika said, “It was an incredible experience, a great learning experience. We went through different phases, discovering what the film was about.” In the film, Deepika plays a pregnant woman. In the trailer, Deepika can be seen carrying a child in her womb who brings a nemesis for the evil forces in the film.