Nag Ashwin is currently gearing up for the release of his ambitious big banner project, Kalki 2898 AD. The Prabhas led film, is not just grand in scale and premise, but also boasts of an airtight star cast including the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan and Deepika Padukone besides Prabhas. The National Award winning director has recently shed light on the logic behind the film's unique title.

Nag Ashwin decodes Kalki 2898 AD's title

In a recent media interaction Nag Ashwin elaborated on the rationale of his upcoming film's title. The director's complex analogy made for a telling insight into the grand vision the film is trying to achieve, and the many worlds it is birthing along the way. 

He said, "Our film starts in Mahabharata and it ends in 2898. That’s the title of the film, it’s called Kalki 2898 AD. It spans 6,000 years of distance and time. So trying to create worlds that are there here, imagining what it could be like, still keeping it Indian and not make it look like a Blade Runner or a Tokyo Spice Punk..." When further prodded about why the mysterious figure of 2898 was part of the film's title, Ashwin explained that 6000 years back dates to 312 BC, which is when the last known avatar of Krishna had come on earth. The film begins during the Mahabharata era and ends 6000 years later - which comes to 2898 AD.

Nag Ashwin on Kalki 2898 AD's Krishna connection

Speaking at 11T Bombay's tech fest last year, Nag Ashwin had shared a brief explanation of the film's mythological context. Despite being heavily rooted in the sci-fi genre, it is this unmissable link with mythology and religion which extends the film its Indian touch. 

He said, "It is something connected to our present and past. That’s what the story is. In Hindu scriptures, Kalki is envisioned as the figure destined to bring an end to the Kali Yuga, one of the four stages in the cyclical nature of existence in Vaishnava cosmology."  Kalki 2898 AD will be releasing in theatres worldwide on May 9.