Kalki 2898 AD: Nag Ashwin and team never wanted to cast a superstar as Krishna; Here’s why

Kalki 2898 AD, the blockbuster movie directed by Nag Ashwin has been garnering attention with its star cast. Here’s why the director never considered any superstar, for the role of Krishna.

Prabhas in Kalki 2898 AD poster; A screengrab of Krishna Kumar from the film.

Kalki 2898 AD, the epic sci-fi film directed by Nag Ashwin has been a talk of the town, ever since its release. Along with the exceptional making and technical finesse, the multi-starrer also made quite a stir on social media with its fantastic casting. Notably, the multi-starrer film features the popular actors from all major Indian film industries, including legend Amitabh Bachchan, veteran actor Kamal Haasan, Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, and many other. Interestingly, director Nag Ashwin recently revealed that they never considered any superstar for the role of Lord Krishna in the film.

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Kalki 2898 AD - Nag Ashwin reveals no superstar was considered to play Krishna

In a recent interview with Pinkvilla, director Nag Ashwin extensively spoke about the casting process of Kalki 2898 AD. Interestingly, the filmmaker revealed that he never wanted a popular face to play the role of Lord Krishna, in the film. Earlier, many popular names including superstar Mahesh Babu and Nani were rumoured to be playing Krishna, in the film. However, the role was played by Krishna Kumar aka KK, a talented Tamil actor who has earlier played pivotal roles in Soorarai Pottru and Maaran.

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According to Nag Ashwin, it was decided right from the beginning that a lesser-known actor should play Krishna in the film. It is because the talented director didn’t want the popularity of a superstar to take over the feeling of witnessing Krishna’s aura on the silver screen. The writer-filmmaker further added that he wanted the audience to see only the epic character, not the superstar who plays the role, on the silver screen.

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The Kalki 2898 AD director also revealed that he was very sure about showing a dark-skinned Krishna on screen, and wanted him to remain a formless, enigmatic yet commanding presence on screen. That is the reason why the epic character is shown in silhouette, in every scene he appears. Nag Ashwin rubbished the rumours of replacing Krishna Kumar with a popular star in the second part of the film and added that the character will be shown in the same way, in all installments in the franchise.

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