Nag Ashwin talks about directing Kamal Haasan in Kalki 2898 AD: 'He is like a film school'

Nag Ashwin's Kalki 2898 AD has become the highest-grossing Indian film of 2024. After its successful run in theaters, it is now available for streaming on Prime Video in Telugu, with dubs in Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam, and English subtitles.

The film features strong performances from Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, and Deepika Padukone, but Kamal Haasan stands out as the menacing antagonist, Supreme Yaskin. His chilling portrayal of a powerful god-king in a post-apocalyptic world leaves a lasting impact. Director Nag Ashwin, who worked closely with Haasan, shares how much he learned from the legendary actor.

 

 

 

 

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Nag Ashwin said, “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.

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