Why Big B, Kamal Haasan were stunned by Kalki 2898 AD’s narration

Excitement is building up over the much hyped up film ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, which stars A-listers Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, and is written and directed by Nag Ashwin and produced by C Aswani Dutt. This mega budget sci-fiction film, which has mythological references, is releasing in Telugu and Hindi. The makers had a special trailer launch in Hindi and during this event, the actors spoke in detail about the film and their experience of working with the director.

Amitabh Bachchan, who plays Ashwatthama in this film, said, “It has been a great honour to work with Nag in this project and work in a set-up where they have actually gone beyond thinking, which many of us have not done in our lives in this industry. I am really excited that they are moving little by little, making us work in conditions we never even thought we would be able to work in. I want to congratulate Nag and the production for thinking something like this for the film. It is a great honour to be part of this film.”

Speaking about what his first thought were about the film when he heard it, Bachchan said, “Nagi came and explained to me the idea. And for a long time after he left, I was thinking what the hell was Nagi drinking to think of something like this. It was something absolutely outrageous. Some of the visuals that you’ve seen just now is just unbelievable to have somebody conceive a project which is so futuristic and so impossible. During the making of the film we realised that no matter what he thought of, he actually got all the material, all the effects, every kind of visual that he had. That really has been an amazing experience for me to just be part of it  has been an experience I’ll never forget.”

Kamal Haasan, too, had similar thoughts after meeting his director and said, “I'm used to these kinds of ordinary looking people, who do extraordinary things. My boss, my mentor was one such man – he looked like a government official, and if he enters any house, you’ll think it’s an income tax officer! That is how it looked, but I’ve seen what he was capable of from the kind of films he did. I don’t underestimate these ordinary looking guys, they have a depth to them that doesn’t show unless you talk to them and I did have the opportunity of talking to Nagi a few words and he knew how to present an idea. As Amit ji said, the first thing that you want to ask is what have you been smoking or drinking, but that’s how great ideas are formed. I was talking backstage to Amit ji about how I always wanted to play a bad man, because the bad man gets to do all the good things in films. While the heroes are singing romantic songs and waiting for the heroine, the band man 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 he wanted it to be different. I am almost like a sage in the film.”

The actor has worked on his look in the film, which Kamal attributed to the director’s vision and good technicians. He said, “I was curious to begin with, then surprised, and now I am in awe. What you are thinking about, Nagi would have not just thought about it already, but also implemented it. I thought I had a fantastic idea of dressing up in such a way that people will turn around and look at me. But Nagi would say that Amit ji is already doing it! Every character’s look has been meticulously planned. I am hoping that the audience will react the same way as we did when we saw the first look.”

Prabhas, popular as ‘Rebel Star’, was all praise for the veteran actors and his co-stars. He said, “First I would like to thank the producers for giving me the opportunity to work with such great legends; it’s bigger than dream and I don’t know what to say. I was awestruck when I first met Amitabh sir. I touched his feet, but he didn’t want me to do that. I have grown up watching him. He is the first actor in the country who reached every part of the country. My uncle used to have hairstyle like his. In the South, any guy who was tall and sported hairstyle like Amitabh Sir, people would call him Amitabh Bachchan. He is the first actor I think who reached that level.”

Continuing further, he said, “It is also unbelievable that I am working with Kamal sir.” Prabhas also said that he had wanted to work with Deepika Padukone for long. “There are few actresses/ actors who can reach such an international level. She is such a gorgeous superstar and a great actress. It is beautiful to work with her,” he added.

Deepika’s character is shown to be pregnant in the film and in real life, too, the actress is expecting her first child in the next couple of months. Talking about her part in the film and about the director, she said, “It has been an incredible experience and a great learning experience. I think it is a completely new world. We went to different phases of discovering what this movie is about. The magic that was in Nagi’s head is now finally here for everyone to see. We as actors discovered it along the way. It was an incredible experience – both at a personal and professional level. It is unlike anything that we’ve experienced or seen before so.”

She recalled doing the narration for ‘Kalki’ through the Covid period with Nagi on Zoom. “You could see the sparks of genius in him even though this is just his second or third movie. When he was narrating the film, there wasn’t much on paper, but it was all in his mind, and every time he spoke, you could visualise it. Even now when you look into his eyes, you can see that what he had envisioned over the years is so clear. He speaks so articulately and you can see that he is completely consumed by it and how passionate he is about the film.” 

On a parting note Deepika said, “I don’t know how much I can or cannot reveal, but yes, I play a mother in the film, and the movie is out on the 27th for everyone to see.”