“I felt very blessed to be around him”: Director Nag Ashwin reflects on directing Kamal Haasan as Kalki 2898 AD streams on Prime Video

MUMBAI: Riding the wave of success, Kalki 2898 AD has set a new benchmark in Indian cinema, becoming the highest-grossing Indian film of 2024 so far. After a triumphant theatrical run, the film is now available for streaming on Prime Video in Telugu, with dubs in Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam, and subtitles in English. Featuring outstanding performances from Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, and Deepika Padukone, the film truly shines when Kamal Haasan appears as the formidable antagonist, Supreme Yaskin. Kamal Haasan’s spine-chilling portrayal of an authoritarian god-king in a post-apocalyptic world, combining mystique with commanding power, leaves a lasting impression on viewers long after the credits roll. Director Nag Ashwin, who collaborated closely with Haasan on Kalki 2898 AD, shares insights into the valuable lessons he learnt from working with the legendary actor.

Nag Ashwin expresses, “I think anyone who has spent some time with Kamal Haasan sir will agree that he is like a film school because he has so much knowledge about literally everything: acting, direction, producing films; he's done music, sang for films, directed, danced for films, choreographed films, action, prosthetics; he's done CG heavy films, so even 10 minutes that you get to sit with Kamal sir is a very enriching experience because he has so many stories from so many of his experiences. I felt like a film student while working on Kalki, I felt very blessed to be around him.”

Marking the first installment in the Kalki Cinematic Universe, Kalki 2989 AD is set against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world—in the year 2898 AD. The film unfolds in the now-barren Kashi, deemed the first city in the world. Supreme Yaskin (Kamal Haasan) rules this dystopian era, known as 'Kalyuga', and conducts a critical experiment on fertile women – as part of a mysterious Project K  in his futuristic ‘Complex’. Amid Supreme Yaskin’s quest for a woman who can carry a foetus for at least 150 days, chaos ensues when SUM80 (Deepika Padukone), a complex employee considered infertile, discovers she is pregnant with Lord Kalki, the final avatar of Lord Vishnu, putting Yaskin’s reign in peril.

Produced by Priyanka Dutt, C. Aswani Dutt, and Swapna Dutt, under the banner of Vyjayanthi Movies, Kalki 2989 AD features a powerhouse ensemble cast, including Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone, and Disha Patani, among many others, along with a couple of special cameos. This action-adventure film is now streaming on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.