Kalki 2898 AD has been gaining praise across the country for its exceptional cinematic experience but at the same time audience also pointed out that the first half of the movie was slow. Reacted to the same, the renowned director Nag Ashwin called it a ‘valid’ complaint and stated that the ambition to do this movie is bigger in the sense. He also highlighted the advantages and disadvantages of making the film. 

The director said as quoted by Hindustan Times, “It has been a universal response that people found the first half slow, and it’s very valid. In a three-hour film, if viewers liked two hours and 54 minutes, I will take that. A movie like this is beyond us. The ambition was bigger in the sense, there was a larger thing at stake than just us. Many makers were waiting for the result of this sci-fi film. If it didn’t work, it would have closed doors for more years.”

He also recalled that it was “very difficult to get the finances” as the pre-production started during Covid-19. Nag said “Luckily, we did have the biggest star cast of our country, so we had a little bit of a cushion there. Plus the previous films we (the producers) have done together, worked, so there was goodwill on that front.”

The science fiction action drama drew inspiration from the Indian epic Mahabharata. It starred Prabhas as Bhairava, Amitabh Bachchan as Ashwatthama, Kamal Haasan as Supreme Yaskin, Deepika Padukone as Sumathi, Disha Patani as Roxie, Saswata Chatterjee as Commander Manas and Keerthy Suresh as Bujji. Nag Ashwin’s directorial also featured Mrunal Thakur, Vijay Deverakonda, Dulquer Salmaan, SS Rajamouli and Ram Gopal Varma in cameo roles. The film was released in theatres on 27th June. Netflix secured the Hindi rights of the movie and Prime Video has purchased the rights for the southern languages.