Actor Prabhas’ high-budget dystopian sci-fi mythological saga Kalki 2898 AD released on Thursday, June 27 to positive reviews across the country. Given the hype around the lead actor and the Rs 700 crore budget that went into making the movie, many have reportedly reached out to the producers of the film seeking details of its day-1 box-office collections – to determine the success of the film.

Responding to this, Swapna Dutt, one of producers of Kalki 2898 AD, shared a post on X. “It’s very amazing that people are calling or asking, Did we cross records? It’s hilarious because guys who create or created those records never make films for the records. We make for the audience. We make for the love of cinema. We did the same.” (sic). 

​​https://x.com/SwapnaDuttCh/status/1806582784649314514 

Apart from Prabhas, Kalki 2898 AD stars Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Shobana, and many others.

The movie has opened to a largely positive response with critics appreciating director Nag Ashwin for prioritising the genre and its world instead of focusing on the lead actor as in the case of a typical star-vehicle movie. They have showered praises for the film’s immersive world-setting and its grand visual presentation.

Kalki is set in a dystopian world, 6,000 years after the Kurukshetra war in Mahabharata. Kasi is the only place left on earth, and it is filled with destitutes struggling for clean air, water, and food. Kamal Haasan plays Supreme Yaskin, the villain who controls the Complex, which is bountiful with resources. 

Prabhas plays Bhairava, a morally ambiguous bounty hunter who wants to make 1 million ‘units’ (the currency in futuristic Kasi) to settle in the Complex. Amitabh Bachchan plays Ashwathama, the warrior from Mahabharata who carries the curse of immortality.

In her review for TNM, Sowmya Rajendran wrote, “For all its flaws, Kalki 2898 AD has a cogent screenplay that makes us stay focused on what’s happening despite the lengthy runtime of 3 hours. Part 1 does the job of arousing our curiosity about Part 2, dangling the very effective bait of Kamal Haasan displaying his vishwaroopam. Good enough for an ambitious franchise.”