'Kalki 2898 AD' Review: Superb VFX, Amitabh's strong acting, but the film fails in terms of story

Story of 'Kalki 2898 A.D.'

The story revolves around the modern incarnation of Lord Vishnu who descends to save the world from evil. The events begin after the Mahabharata war where Lord Krishna cursed Dronacharya's son Ashwatthama with immortality. Taking this mythological seed, the story moves into the world of fantasy. There is a popular legend about the tenth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, which prophesies that the incarnation will come riding a white horse and mark the end of Kali Yuga.

Taking this premise forward, the story reaches a city called Kashi where the cruel and evil Commander (Saswat Chatterjee) is the uncrowned king of this complex. He works for the Supreme (Kamal Haasan), the owner of this elusive complex. This complex is a powerhouse equipped with modern and natural technology and luxury, where the rebels and poor of Shambhala are barred from entering. The Supreme of the complex is experimenting on women of childbearing age to increase his chaotic divine powers. In this experiment, pregnant women are killed and a substance is extracted from their wombs to find the substance that can make the Supreme powerful. Men do slavery here. On the other hand, the people of Shambhala hope that one day a mother will come to their world, whose child will come as an avatar and will end all their sorrows and troubles and bring new light of new life for them.

Meanwhile, at the campus, Sumati (Deepika Padukone) miraculously manages to hide her pregnancy for five months. In fact, the much-awaited avatar is growing in Sumati's womb. Sumati somehow manages to escape from Supreme's clutches, but the bounty hunter Bhairava (Prabhas) wants to capture Sumati and hand her over to the Commander so that he can enter the luxurious world of the campus. But then Ashwatthama (Amitabh Bachchan) arrives from the mythological era to save Sumati.

Watch here- Hindi trailer of 'Kalki 2898'

'Kalki 2898 A.D.' movie review

Director Nag Ashwin's story is a web of many tracks and sub-tracks that creates confusion. In the first half of the film, he takes time to establish the prevalent backstory and various characters. In the second half, the brutal protector form of the superhero takes the pace of the story forward. But there is no doubt that the complex and Shambhala world that Nag Ashwin has created will leave you stunned in amazement.

The technology of this fictional universe, the costumes of the people and the production design provide an experience that you would have never seen in Bollywood. The VFX of the film is no less than any Hollywood scientific-fiction, rather it has become excellent. But the problem is in the story, in the crowd of characters, the justification of which is not understood in the first part.

Whether it is the high octane action sequences of Ashwatthama and Bhairava or the clash between the complex and the forces of Shambhala, everything is amazing. Disha Patani as Roxy is shown as Bhairava's love interest, but there is no further development of her character. The music of such a grand film could have been made even more melodious.

Cinematographer Djordje Stojiljicovic has done a commendable job. However, many questions remain unanswered. Perhaps also because the director has hinted at a sequel. However, Nag Ashwin deserves praise for the way he has developed the mythology through visuals generated with modern cinema techniques. The film fails to connect emotionally, but the bonding between Bhairava and Bujji is largely entertaining.

Talking about acting and getup, megastar Amitabh Bachchan has once again proved why he is called the Big B of the industry. He has brought life to the character of Ashwatthama. His agility and strength are clearly visible in the action scenes. He is the main attraction of the film. Prabhas fans will definitely complain why he has got less screen space in the character of Bhairav. Here Prabhas has presented amazing action along with comedy, in which he did not look good in comedy, but yes, when he becomes Karna, he manages to leave an impact. Deepika Padukone has acted with restraint in the character of Sumati.

Disha Patni has been removed from the role of Roxy. There were a lot of expectations from Kamal Haasan's presence in the trailer, but he appears in his true form in the last scene. However, he has made his presence felt strongly. Shobhana looks good as Maryam of Shambhala. Anil George is memorable in the role of Senapati. Otherwise, Mrinal Thakur, Dulquer Salman, Vijay Deverakonda, Ram Gopal Varma and SS Rajamouli increase curiosity by appearing in only a few scenes. It is possible that these characters will be expanded in the second part of this film.

Why watch: This film is worth watching for its amazing visuals and Amitabh Bachchan's performance.