It came as a pleasant shock to cinema fans in India, especially to the ones in the South, that actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan is joining hands with Prabhas for Kalki 2898 AD. At first, the reports about the collaboration were brushed aside as rumours but when Vyjayanthi Movie, the production house of Kalki, officially confirmed it, the expectations for the film skyrocketed further. Added to the frenzy was the news that Kamal Haasan is playing the antagonist in the film. Now, Kamal spoke about how everyone was in denial when the news came out.
“Nobody believed that I am part of this project (laughs). As a matter of fact, yesterday, the funny thing is the protagonist of the film, Mr Prabhas, just held my hand and said ‘thank you’. ‘I didn’t believe till today that you are part of the film. I am still wondering how they got you in,” Kamal told Collider at San Diego Comic-Con.
Talking about why he accepted the role, Kamal revealed, “What Nag Ashwin is attempting to do and the reason why I am happily part of the project is that we have a great mythological thread running for thousands of years. So, if he hits the correct symbols people will understand in which direction the story is going. There are iconic characters in Ramayana and Mahabharata… you just have to give a hint of it and they would almost know what would be the next scene. So, you can cut to the chase quickly.”
Earlier, Kamal also said, “The reason I accepted to do this film (is because) I come from the analogous cinema. Without the negative there’s no positive, so a negative role is an important role in a film.”
However, Nag Ashwin chose to remain tight-lipped about the role of Kamal Haasan. “Everyone is waiting to see (Kamal) sir in this role… why he wanted to do the character and why we wanted him to do it. So, I would like to leave it as a surprise.” When asked if he is thinking about a spin-off or a sequel to the film, the director said, “I am currently thinking about only this movie.”
Other than Kamal Haasan and Prabhas, Kalki 2898 AD also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, and Pasupathy in prominent roles. Santhosh Narayanan has composed the music for the film, which will be released in 2024.
