Kalki: Ambitious Adventure That Works In Parts!

 

Thanks to the success of Rajamouli everyone dreams of making epic movies. Some made and succeeded, whereas several others failed. And, it’s the trend now to make a movie in parts, something that wasn’t seen in Indian cinema for a century, while we were happily lapping up such fare dished out by Hollywood! 

Also, for long many filmmakers have tried to push mythology in the garb of modern day storytelling, without much success. And, lesser said the better about sci-fi movies in India. Now, we have Kalki 2898 that aspires to merge both these elements in one. 

As the title suggests, the movie is set in a (relatively) distant post-apocalyptic future, where few cities like Kashi have survived, and all rivers - including the mighty Ganga - have gone dry, and people are enslaved by an evil entity, Supreme Yaskin (Kamal Hassan),who rules from an inverted pyramid city hanging in the sky, called ‘Complex’. Yaskin, over 200 years old, survives on the serum extracted from pregnant women (who don’t survive beyond 100 days of pregnancy), and he’s seeking immortality by finding a woman whose pregnancy can last beyond 120 days. 

Kalki tells the story of the birth of the last avatar of Vishnu - as Kalki, as told to Ashwatthama - Amitabh Bachchan - in the battle of the Mahabharata. Because of Krishna’s curse, Ashwatthama stays immortal and is awaiting the birth of Kalki on earth for his salvation.  He is supposed to take birth on the darkest day in the last 6000 years, while the star ‘Ashwini’ is in ascendancy (oblique hat-tip to the director of the movie Nag Ashwin, and his father-in-law, and producer, Ashwini Dutt)

In the city of Kashi stays Bhairava (Prabhas), a raider/bounty hunter who’s never been beaten in any duel by anyone. He is street smart, has created his own AI programme-supercar, Buji (voiceover by Keerthy Suresh), has a smart mouth, a hot girl friend, and of course, a golden heart. 

Deepika stars as SUM-80, one of the lab rats of Yaskin, and even though she becomes pregnant, it doesn’t show up as positive in tests. Her pregnancy though gets revealed and she is pulled into the serum extraction process. However, before the process could get done - the Commander gets to extract just a drop - she is rescued by a rebel inside the ‘Complex’ and is whisked off towards ‘Shambala’, the rebel stronghold, led by Mariam (Shobhana). 

Ashwatthama in the meantime gets back his divine gem from a girl he saves from Yasmin’s forces. He also feels that the time for Kalki’s birth has come and sets about trying to find the mother. Bhairava too learns about the bounty on the head of Sum80 and drives towards the desert in pursuit. 

The rest of the first of what might even be a trilogy tells the tale of Deepika’s escape from Yaskin’s forces, the discovery of Shambala by Yaskin’s forces, Ashwatthama realising who Bhairava is. With that the stage is set for the ensuing parts. 

The canvas of the movie is huge, and the director has done a great job in the world building. The effort to blend mythology into science fiction needs to suspend one’s beliefs and requires a huge leap of faith, but I am sure the audiences would love this.  What works in the movie’s favour is that it doesn’t bring the characters from mythology as they were, but reimagines them differently. 

Those who read Mahabharata as young kids and idolised Karna would sure love re-imagining of Karna as the mightiest warrior of those times, even mightier than Arjuna (it quotes from the Bharata to justify this). I would wait for the subsequent parts to see if any other character from mythology are brought back to life (especially, if Arjuna is reimagined as the villain of the story). 

What works for the movie is the effort put into building a post-apocalyptic world, and the character of Ashwatthama, played with aplomb by Amitabh. Standing taller than any - he’s defined as an 8 feet man - and towering over the mighty he makes an imposing figure. He has dubbed for himself in Telugu too, and needless to say even here he aces it. The story of a world in ruins is new to most Indians (except those who consume a Hollywood diet of Mad Max and Terminator movies), and works well. Cinematography and music too are worth mentioning about, as they heighten the drama.  A host of actors and directors appear in cameos - including Rajamouli and Ramgopal Varma - and all that adds to the attraction of the film. 

The movie has major drawbacks too. One, it’s overlong and takes hours to set up the premise. The introduction of Bhairava consumes needless time. Plus, the humour falls flat all through - and the dialogues are cringey (except when mouthed by Amitabh). The biggest disappointment is Prabhas. His is a role anyone could have played, and played better. There’s not a muscle in his face that can act, and not a note in his voice that betrays an emotion.  There are some cop-outs, but I would not give them away, as it will reveal the story of second half. 

The worst fate of the movie though belongs to Deepika. I truly felt sad that she accepted the role (she looks amazing as usual, and plays the part with sincerity). Though supposedly playing a pivotal role of a mother who will birth the future savior, she is reduced to being one helpless whimpering mess, always at the mercy of others. One didn’t need an A-lister for this role; any extra could’ve done it just fine. Also, the lesson to take home is:

 a) it’s always a man who saves the world, and yes, it’s men again who ruin it too but they need women to survive;

b) gods too need a womb to take birth on earth, and save this world. 

Should you watch this movie? Yes, if you can endure the sluggish first half, and stay invested, and choose to ignore the gigantic plotholes, the size of moon’s craters. The second half picks up well and keeps you on the edge of the seat. I don’t know if 3-D is good or not, since my vision doesn’t allow me to experience it (even though I watched the 3-D version).