The
Kalki
Universe
might
just
take
off,
but
it
will
still
owe
its
gee-whizery
to
Hollywood
movies,
observes
Deepa
Gahlot.
It
is
not
short
on
ambition,
this
mixing
of
mythology
and
a
dystopian
future.
But
if
the
emotions
are
Indian
and
the
look
Hollywood
sci-fi,
judging
from
the
trailer
of
Kalki
2898
AD,
then
the
result
would
either
be
magical
or
fall
into
the
slot
of
pure
hokum.
The
makers
of
the
film,
supposedly
the
most
expensive
made
in
India,
have
spent
a
chunk
of
its
Rs
600
crore
(Rs
6
billion)
budget
on
marketing
—
feeding
small
visual
morsels
to
build
up
anticipation
for
the
trailer,
and
then
the
film.
Writer-Director
Nag
Ashwin
works
on
the
belief
that
when
the
evil
of
Kali
Yuga
crosses
limits,
Kalki,
the
tenth
human
avatar
of
Lord
Vishnu,
will
swoop
in
and
save
the
world.
The
time
for
this
appearance
of
the
one
to
vanquish
evil
is
the
year
2898,
so
the
film
is
set
in
a
brown-tinted
arid
future
when
Earth
is
being
depleted
of
resources
—
water
mainly
—
by
a
place
called
the
Complex,
ruled
by
the
Supreme
Yaksin.
Things
are
so
dark
and
bleak
in
Kashi,
the
‘oldest
city
in
the
world’
that
the
light
has
come
in
to
illuminate
a
new
world
order.
Ashwatthama
(the
immortal
from
the
Mahabharat)
played
by
Amitabh
Bachchan
with
a
part-sadhu-part-samurai
look,
takes
on
the
task
of
protecting
the
unborn
child
of
Sumati,
(Deepika
Padukone),
the
woman
who
will
give
birth
to
Bhairava
(Prabhas).
The
mercenary,
who
claims
to
work
for
his
‘own
side’
will
be
drawn
into
this
good
versus
bad
battle,
because
that
is
what
heroes
do.
Kamal
Haasan
in
an
unrecognisable
get-up,
Saswata
Chatterjee
as
the
man
in
pursuit
of
Sumati,
presumably
to
halt
Kalki
from
being
born,
and
Disha
Patani
as
Bhairava’s
love
interest
also
have
a
place
in
the
trailer,
along
with
glimpses
of
the
CGI-heavy
action
sequences.
This
is
where
things
get
tricky
—
audiences
have
seen
enough
sci-fi
adventures
from
Hollywood
to
recognise
the
direct
and
indirect
influences.
They
spot
Star
Wars
and
Dune!
The
editors
of
the
trailer
had
the
tough,
razor’s
edge
task
to
let
audiences
have
a
peek
of
what
to
expect,
without
giving
too
much
away
—
but
then
what
is
on
display
is
spectacular
in
a
seen-before
way,
and
also
hints
at
a
complicated
but
uninspiring
plot.
The
trailer
of
Kalki
2898
AD,
released
with
much
fanfare,
may
not
be
doing
the
film
any
favours.
Far
from
speeding
up
the
viewer’s
heartbeats,
it
evokes
a
so-what’s-new?
reaction.
Brahmastra
had
attempted
this
ancient-meets-modern
template,
and
all
it
got
in
return
for
its
audacity
was
corny
memes
from
its
youthful
target
audience.
Prabhas
has
the
physique
to
play
a
warrior,
so
that’s
a
tick
on
the
plus
side.
The
film
might
turn
out
to
be
a
game-changer
as
claimed,
and
the
Kalki
Universe
might
just
take
off,
but
it
will
still
owe
its
gee-whizery
to
Hollywood
movies.
Like
the
wait
for
the
Kalki
avatar,
the
yearning
for
a
truly
original
Indian
superhero
film
will
go
on
for
a
while
longer.
