Kalki 2898 AD director Nag Ashwin: ‘Amitabh Bachchan only choice for Ashwatthama, casting Prabhas a dream’

What was the most intensive process during the making of Kalki 2898 AD – writing, casting, filming or post-production?

All of them. It is a tough script to write, for sure. It took a while to put things together. The casting took a long time. It’s shooting, too. It is probably one of the most VFX-heavy films we have made so far. The duration of production, spanning over four years, posed several challenges.

There are several action set-pieces. How challenging were they?

The climax was most challenging with so many action sequences taking place in different parts of Shambhala (a fictional world). Some required hundreds of people. Some required complicated VFX.

Amitabh Bachchan in Kalki 2898 AD.

For Kalki 2898 AD, did you get all the actors who were on your wishlist?

The four main actors (Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Prabhas and Deepika Padukone) we have on board are on everyone’s wishlist. Amitabh Bachchan was my only choice for the role of Ashwatthama, who in the Mahabharata is considered to be a great warrior.

Bachchan Sir is one of the biggest stars of our country. His character is supposed to be 8-foot tall and very powerful due to the divine blessings he has received. His fight scenes with Prabhas (who plays a bounty hunter), who is considered to be one of the biggest action heroes of contemporary cinema, was a dream for us to pull off.

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How did you get Ram Gopal Varma and SS Rajamouli to make special appearances?

I had to convince them and they were gracious enough to come on board to support the film.

Prabhas in Kalki 2898 AD.

How did you rope in Keerthy Suresh, Vijay Deverakonda and Dulquer Salmaan – the actors you had worked with earlier?

We cast them as we went along. When we required an actor to play a particular role, we looked at the people we have worked with earlier and with whom we shared a comfort level. On the sets, we were always trying to meet the schedule. So, we were on our toes. Since they were accommodating, it made life easier for us.

You have Saswata Chatterjee and Shobhana in interesting roles. Did you feel the pressure of doing justice to their characters?

It was a challenge since we have so many characters in the film – each one is iconic in their own way. We tried to do justice to everyone.

Kamal Haasan in Kalki 2898 AD.

How influenced are you by mythology and sci-fi movies?

A lot. I always found these black-and-white mythological movies or Mahabharat on TV or Amar Chitra Katha stories inspiring. I wanted to watch these stories on a big screen in the most dramatic and cinematic way. In Telugu, I had quite a few favourites in these genres; Mayabazar (1957) was one of them.

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What’s the idea behind the film exploring the age-old debate: who is a bigger warrior between Arjun and Karna?

This debate is as old as Mahabharata. It is amazing that a new generation is talking about it too and trying to understand. More than finding answers, it is about discussing and learning about our mythology.

Soldiers of the Supreme in the movie look like ‘stormtroopers’ in Star Wars and Bujji reminds of the droid BB8.

We designed everything on our own with our concept team. Once you have soldiers in an army who wear helmets, they might look like stormtroopers. However, I love Star Wars. There is no problem in admitting that.

Deepika Padukone in Kalki 2898 AD.

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Will you be tweaking the story of Kalki 2898 AD’s second part based on the audience reaction?

We have the story. But it is a whole new project. We have to work on its pre-production just the way we did for Kalki.