What is Project K? Decoding Kalki 2898 AD and the futuristic world of the Prabhas, Deepika Padukone starrer

The first emotion that any film buff would experience with the glimpse of Kalki 2898 AD, Prabhas futuristic film with Nag Ashwin, is relief. After a series of duds and doubts about the actor’s choices being raised, the film reaffirms our belief in him and tells us why he trusted Nag Ashwin with such a grand project. While we still don’t know its story yet, we know the film is in safe hands and that’s enough!

On a basic level, the glimpse suggests the tale is about the fight between good and evil in a world that’s over 875 years ahead of us. There’s no hope in sight, there are visuals of an old man’s dead body, a brother fighting hard for his sibling and scores of people running way. A young man is meanwhile pleading his ruler (played by Saswata Chatterjee) and Pasupathy is battling for his life, with a weapon pointed at him.

There’s an eerie quality to the antagonist’s den and Deepika Padukone is stuck amidst women of various ethnicities. The emergence of a new force is indicated in the hour of turmoil, with a Hanuman-shaped object also suggesting a mythological connect. Prabhas, leading a troop of powerful men, plays a character who can save the world from darkness .

Amitabh Bachchan is cast in a part that’ll help the newer force to vanquish the enemy and the visual aesthetics of the universe is spell-binding to say the least. The battle has a connection with time too and a couple of armies look set for war. Much like all of us, an English-speaking character is curious, ‘What is Project K?’ that leads us to the title Kalki 2898 AD.

The references to mythology, time in a futuristic world look intriguing. The lines ‘When the world is taken over by darkness, a force will rise..the end begins now’ aptly summarise the essence of the film. Disha Patani, Saswata Chatterjee too essay crucial roles in Kalki 2898 AD, which has music by Santhosh Narayanan. Djordje Stojiljkovic is the cinematographer.

The crew also comprises costume designer Archana Rao, editor Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao, production designer Nitin Zihani Choudhary.