If you thought Dune was a wild flight of imaginative fantasy, we invite you to take a look at what our friends on the subcontinent have on offer. Prepare to have your brain melted.
How to watch Kalki 2898 AD in New Zealand
Kalki 2898 is screening in New Zealand cinemas right now.
Kalki 2898 A.D
What is Kalki 2898 AD about?
Directed by Telugu cinema filmmaker Nag Ashwin and riffing on the Hindu epic poem “Mahabharata,” Kalki 2898 follows the immortal warrior Ashwatthama, who was cursed with immortal life by Lord Krishna, his torment only ending when he helps usher in the manifestation of Kalki, the tenth avatar of the god Vishnu (how’s your Hindu mythology? Might be worth brushing up).
He gets his shot in the titular year in the dystopian urban nightmare that is Kasi, the last city on Earth, ruled by the despotic Supreme Yaskin. Here, we find Han Solo-ish bounty hunter Bhairava is tasked with tracking down a woman, SUM-80, who has escaped from Yaskin. How do these two plots intersect? You’ll have to buy a ticket to find out, but expect CGI-drenched spectacle that borrows vibes from Star Wars, Mad Max, Dune, and more. The whole thing is part of the emerging Kalki Cinematic Universe franchise, with Amazon’s animated series Bujji and Bhairava, released earlier this year, set in the same continuity, and a sequel due three years down the track.
The cast of Kalki 2898 AD
Amitabh Bachchan is the immortal Ashwatthama; Prabhas is the bounty hunter Bhairava; Keerthy Suresh voices his robot sidekick, BU-JZ-1; Deepika Padukone is the runaway SUM-80, aka Sumathi; Kamal Haasan is Supreme Yaskin; and Saswata Chatterjee is his henchman, Commander Manas.
Kalki 2898 AD trailer
Why we’re excited about Kalki 2898 AD
Oh, come on, now – it’s a huge, sprawling, dystopian action epic based on Hindu mythology and crafted with the absolute bare minimum of restraint. How could we not be on board with this? Big screen for this one, folks.
