Kalki 2898 AD producer surprising take on records

Pan India Star Prabhas’ highly anticipated dystopian sci-fi mythological saga, Kalki 2898 AD, landed in theaters on Thursday, June 27th, to a chorus of positive reviews across the country. Given the immense hype surrounding the lead actor and the staggering Rs 700 crore budget, many are anxiously awaiting the film’s day-1 box office numbers, eager to gauge its success.

However, Swapna Dutt, one of the film’s producers, took to X to share a refreshing perspective on the obsession with box office numbers. “It’s incredibly amusing that people are calling or asking if we’ve broken records,” she wrote. “The truth is, those who create these records never make films for the numbers. We make them for the audience, for the love of cinema. That’s exactly what we did with Kalki 2898 AD.”

Kalki 2898 AD, starring Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Shobana, and many others, has garnered largely positive responses from critics. They have lauded director Nag Ashwin for prioritizing the film’s genre and world-building over simply showcasing the lead actor, a common trend in star-driven films. Critics have showered praise on the film’s immersive setting and grand visual presentation.

The film is set in a dystopian world, 6,000 years after the Kurukshetra war in the Mahabharata. Kasi, the last surviving city on Earth, is populated by destitute souls struggling for basic necessities like clean air, water, and food. Kamal Haasan plays Supreme Yaskin, the villain who controls the Complex, a resource-rich haven.

Prabhas portrays Bhairava, a morally ambiguous bounty hunter who seeks to earn 1 million ‘units’ (the currency in futuristic Kasi) to secure a place in the Complex. Amitabh Bachchan plays the iconic Ashwathama, the immortal warrior from the Mahabharata. The film directed by Nag Ashwin is captures the imagination of all with the way he blended the story and characters in Mahabharat along with the futuristic elements.