Yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhavati bharata
Abhythanamadharmasya tadatmanam srijamyaham
"Whenever there is a decline in righteousness and an increase in unrighteousness, at that time I manifest myself."
Lord Krishna’s words in the midst of a searing battle between the Pandavas and Kauravas forms the core story of Nag Ashwin’s most ambitious movie of this year. Starring a host of stars – Amitabh Bachan, Kamal Hasan, Prabhas, Deepika, Disha Patani and others, this epic saga offers a great start to the ‘Kalki’ universe. Spoilers ahead.
Cons
- A lagging first half with nearly a work-from-home Prabhas fail to pull us through the initial boredom. However, it is adequately compensated by a visually compelling second half with a great pre-interval and a fantastic climax.
- Usage of all the sci-fi Hollywood movies in post-apocalyptic and chase sequences might be borderline plagiarism, but fit decently into the storyline.
- Kamal Hasan’s character was obnoxiously different, and an extended role-play in second set of the movie series would provide justice to his great talent.
Pros
- Fantastically believable VFX seamlessly fit into the cinematic marvel with re-created scenes from the Mahabharata war and the detailed fight sequence between Amitabh and Prabhas quite the highlight.
- Amitabh Bachan as the legendary Ashwatthama is the new version of ‘angry’ old man and exudes absolute brilliance in each and every frame.
- Deepika emerging from the fireball (like Kunti) and with several vulnerable portions has given us an underdog to root for.
- Surprising Santosh Narayanan’s BGMs create the most memorable goosebumps as the shrill pitch reverberated around us, even defying the poorly constructed audio in the theatre.
Last but not least, the fantastic direction of Nag Ashwin, who has transcended the boundaries of conventional story-telling, defying odds to deliver a good start to this cinematic universe. If you are interested in mythical Indian tales and its futuristic extensions or want a visual treat on the big screen, then this is definitely a must watch movie.
