Jul 08, 2024 08:11 AM IST
Nag Ashwin’s dystopian sci-fi epic Kalki 2898 AD has been praised for its world-building. Many have compared it to the magical world of Harry Potter.
Nag Ashwin’s dystopian sci-fi epic Kalki 2898 AD has been receiving critical acclaim for its immersive and imaginative world-building. So much so that many have compared it to the Harry Potter franchise. In an interview with Zoom, Nag clarified that Harry Potter was not an inspiration, but two other Hollywood films were. (Also Read – Kalki 2898 AD box office collection day 11: Film to air in ₹500 crore club)
What Nag said
When asked if Marvel’s Iron Man franchise was also an inspiration, Nag said, “We grew up on Marvel movies. I would say Guardians of the Galaxy was more of an influence than Iron Man. Star Wars is definitely a big influence. I love Star Wars, so that’s subconsciously part of my aesthetic.” He also revealed that Harshith Reddy’s character Luke is based on the popular Star Wars character Luke Skywalker.
However, he denied that Harry Potter was an inspiration, particularly for Kamal Haasan’s look as Supreme Yaskin, reportedly modelled on the Hollywood franchise’s main antagonist Lord Voldermort. “Our references were these old Tibetan monks, who are said to be 120-130 years old. Sir (Kamal Haasan) always mentioned the portrait of Dorian Grey (from Oscar Wilde’s 1890 philosophical novel The Picture of Dorian Grey). That was the inspiration from sir. We didn’t have many film references for that old look,” Nag added. He said that perhaps the only Harry Potter reference was Vinay Kumar’s character Sirius, derived from the popular Harry Potter character Sirius Black (played by Gary Oldman in the films).
About Kalki 2898 AD
Kalki 2898 AD is past the ₹800 crore mark in worldwide box office revenue and ₹500 crore domestically till date. Touted as the most expensive film produced in India with a reported budget of ₹600 crore, the mythological sci-fi action drama released worldwide on June 27 in six languages. The film, previously titled Project K, was released worldwide in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and English.
Kalki 2898 AD is produced by Vyjayanthi Movies and stars Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone, Prabhas, Saswata Chatterjee, Shobhana, Anna Ben, among others.