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Box Office Predictions: A Promising Start
Prabhas starrer Kalki 2898 AD, a dystopian sci-fi film based on the Mahabharata, is expected to collect around Rs 180–200 crore in terms of worldwide gross box office collections on its first weekend due to the increase in business, especially on Saturday and Sunday. If this happens, Kalki 2898 AD will be the third biggest Indian opener worldwide after RRR (Rs 223 crore) and Baahubali 2 (Rs 217 crore). The fourth and fifth biggest Indian openers are Salaar (Rs 158 crore) and KGF: Chapter 2 (Rs 159 crore). At the North American box office, the film has surpassed RRR to score the biggest premiere for any Indian film in the recent past.
North American Success: Breaking Records and Indian Advance Bookings: Strong Early Numbers
Kalki grossed $3.65 million (Rs 30.50 crore) and is heading towards a $4 million premiere in North America. For the entire weekend, the film scored $4.25 million in pre-sales. In March 2022, RRR, on the other hand, scored a $3.3 million gross collection in its North American premiere. Back home, the film could rake in around Rs 90–100 crore in terms of net box office collections. The film has made a total of around Rs 55 crore, excluding block seats, in terms of its advance booking collections in India, according to trade portal Sacnilk. Top box office openers in India include Baahubali 2 (over Rs 100 crore), KGF 2 (Rs 80.3 crore), and RRR (Rs 58.73 crore).
Mahabharata Meets Futurism: The Film’s Setting and Themes
Directed by Nag Ashwin, Kalki 2898 AD is set in the time period between the Mahabharata and the onset of the Kali Yuga. It focuses on the arrival of Kalki, the 10th and final avatar of the Hindu deity Lord Vishnu. The film was released in theatres worldwide on June 27 in standard, IMAX, and 3D formats. The movie proudly owns its derivative nature while missing the point about the dystopic fiction from which it borrows wholesale. Righteous resistance to a dictatorship or fresh ways of imagining power structures—central themes of dystopic cinema—are feeble in a movie that not only rests on star power but also recommends a throwback to mythic heroism.
Cast and Performances: Southern Film Industry Stars
Despite heavy nods to Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films, Kalki 2898 AD has little say on whether the future is going to be any different from the present. More than 800 years from now, we will still be slavishly worshipping heroes, the movie suggests. A rebel soldier is even grateful to be captured by the allegedly fearsome Bhairava. The opposition is equally weak. Saswata Chatterjee’s complex enforcer, Manas, is too clownish to be taken seriously. After taking forever to set up its plot, much of which unfolds in murky-looking, underlit interiors, Kalki 2898 AD wakes up in the post-interval sections.
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Release and Reception: Combining Futurism with Mythology
The cast includes a host of actors from the southern film industries, including Pasupathy, Prabhas Brahmanandam, and a feisty Anna Ben. Disha Patani plays Bhairava’s girlfriend, who disappears after supplying dialled-up oomph. Deepika Padukone’s Sumati is around for longer but has little to do beyond looking stricken. Kalki 2898 AD review and release highlights: Nag Ashwin’s ambitious magnum opus releases today. It is a dystopian science-fiction action thriller that combines futurism with mythology. Its characters and plot are inspired by the Mahabharata.
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