Kalki 2898AD is a Box Office success. There is so much Hallabol about the movie collections here, in the North, and in the Overseas. There is the second part as well which will come with substantial expectations from the audience and the trade.
There is no denying that Prabhas walks away with most of the credit for the success of ‘Kalki,’ more than the director. Prabhas’s name is the one being heard everywhere in connection with the film’s success.
Usually, when a VFX-based film with a mythological touch is released, the director gets most or equal credit. ‘Hanuman’ is a recent example of this, as is Rajamouli’s ‘Baahubali,’ where the entire nation chanted his name.
As the dust settles around, Nag Ashwin should go to the writing table and evaluate what worked and what did not work in the film.
Regarding what worked, easily the New World, the Production Design, the VFX, and some of the big names worked for the film.
People have been screaming about these things given the numbers but it is important that Nag Ashwin hears the voices that really matter.
Comparing Mahanati and Kalki may seem like comparison between Apples and Oranges when you only look at it superficially. But the underlying message is very important for Nag Ashwin – the Filmmaker.
Nag Ashwin’s strength is all about evoking the Human emotions, writing characters that are foolproof, and attention to detail when it comes to the writing.
Kalki clearly lags that. The movie is riddled with issues but got saved by the Unique World and the Final Mythological Punch.
The basic mistake is having too many cameos when narrating a serious subject. It is not that they caused damage but it gives a feeling you are not serious about the task at the hand. How would you explain Avasarala Srinvas, Faria, Anudeep, RGV, and all in cameos? They do not bring any value to the table (the very concept of cameos) or add anything to the story or the World you are building.
The hero’s character arc itself is poorly conceived. For an instance, we never understand why Prabhas is so obsessed with going to Complex.
For an instance, take the track of DQ and Prabhas. DQ is supposed to be Father figure to Prabhas in the film. He gets ready to give away his child to go to Complex and immediately Prabhas cheats him. It is supposed to be the most important emotion between father and son. Also, it is a big opportunity to establish why Prabhas is obsessed with going to Complex. But the scenes is hollow and we do not even remember DQ after walking out of theaters.
Using the song and Disha Patani’s track to establish that obsession is a big injustice to his own capability.
And then, there is the character of Mariam played by Shobhana. Leave aside the goodwill Shobhana’s comeback brings to the film, her character arc is hollow. Again not Apples to Apple comparison but the character has everything to be a powerful one like Ramyakrishnan’s in Baahubali. But there is barely anything in her.
Keep aside Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Hasaan (discounting because he is mostly reserved for the second part), Nag Ashwin the writer failed to come up with a single memorable character in the film. Even for Prabhas, remove that Karna track and the weak character track would fall apart completely.
There are quite a few issues like this in the film. Luckily, Nag Ashwin had enough padding with the premise of the story, the World, the cast, etc to cover up these issues. But the 1000 Crore noise should not hide the issues forever.
Also, these are not the most difficult things to correct. In fact, getting an idea like Kalki, weaving a story with Mythological references, conceiving the three Worlds and bringing a futuristic angle in them are the difficult parts.
Nag Ashwin did them easily while he faltered in basics. No that he does not know them. We have seen how he mastered them in Mahanati.
Before watching any content from Kalki, everyone thought Nagi is a master in writing and emotions but doubted his caliber to handle Event films like this. But it turned out in reverse after watching the film.
It is undeniably that Mahanati is a far superior work of Nagi even if Kalki goes on to mint another 1000 Crore.
It is quite natural that many filmmakers do not see these issues due to the numbers. But we expect Nag Ashwin to do that knowing his humble and down-to-earth nature.
