How is Kalki 2898 AD connected to Mahabharat?
Kalki 2898 AD is filled with references to Mahabharat. While we refrain from delving into scene breakdowns to avoid spoilers, here’s a look at the characters inspired by Mahabharat.
Kalki 2898 AD Spoilers Ahead: Nag Ashwin’s visionary Kalki 2898 AD released this weekend. The film, which starred Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Kamal Haasan in the lead, has surpassed Rs 200 crores box office collection in just three days in India and is expected to end its opening weekend box office collection on a high note. Audiences of the film are mighty impressed with Ashwin’s attempt at intertwining Indian mythology and sci-fi. Many have also been decoding the Mahabharat references in Kalki 2898 AD.
So far, we’ve got a handful of them. Let’s check them out. It goes without saying, spoilers ahead:
Kalki 2898 AD has several Mahabharat references. The most obvious one being Amitabh Bachchan’s Ashwatthama. The character was revealed in the initial stages of the film’s promotions. Following the film’s release, we noticed that many other Mahabharat characters have been incorporated in different styles in the film. Let’s take a look:
Vijay Deverakonda as Arjun:
The Telugu superstar made a cameo in Kalki 2898 AD. He played the role of Arjun from the battle of Kurukshetra in Mahabharat. Interestingly, Kurukshetra was also shown to exist in the dystopian future created by Nag Ashwin.
Dulquer Salmaan as Parashurama:
The popular Malayalam star was introduced as a ‘pilot’ who taken in Bhairava (Prabhas) during a battle. Over the years, he teaches him the ways of life. Surprisingly, the ‘pilot’ doesn’t age. This paves the way to the possibility that Dulquer’s character was inspired by Parashurama, the man who teaches Karan and Kalki in the mythology and is said to never age.
Deepika Padukone as Sumathi:
Deepika Padukone’s character seems to be inspired from Sumathi, the second wife of King Sagara and the mother of Kalki. In mythology, she is known to have 60,000 children. It is said that Kalki, who will be the 10th avatar of Lord Vishnu, will destroy evil forces and set the new yug in motion. The belief is the base of Kalki 2898 AD.
MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD:
Prabhas – Karna:
This came as a big surprise to fans. Prabhas was introduced as Bhairava in the first half of the film. However, as the second half played out, Nag Ashwin revealed that Bhairava is the reincarnation of Karan from Mahabharat. The filmmaker also recreates the iconic battle from the mythos to elevate the big surprise.
Krishnakumar Balasubramanian – Krishna
In the same battlefield, we meet Lord Krishna, seated behind Vijay Deverakonda’s Arjun. Played by Krishnakumar Balasubramanian, Nag Ashwin completes his vision of the Kurukshetra’s battlefield and also seemingly tries to recreate it in the climax of the film.
Besides the characters, Nag Ashwin has also includes a few scenes from the Mahabharat. One of which is Karna holding the chariot wheel. The film also features the Gandeeva, a bow wielded by Arjun in Mahabharat.
