Akhila Menon
The forced romantic track of Bhairava and Roxie (Prabhas and Disha Patani) contributes nothing to the main plot. Instead, it added more fluff to the first half, making it just boring.
Well, apart from the fact that she is carrying Kalki, we never really get an insight into Deepika Padukone's character, SUM-80. And this makes it difficult to empathize with the character or root for her.
The first half of Kalki 2898 AD is majorly dedicated to establishing Prabhas' Bhairava and his life. However, the star service becomes tiring after a point with never-ending fights and forced humour.
Kamal Haasan makes a cameo appearance in Kalki 2898 AD. But for a character like Supreme Yaskin, it is just not enough. Apart from casually mentioning his age, we know nothing about Yaskin or his 'Project K', yet.
While Dulquer Salmaan, Vijay Deverakonda, Mrunal Thakur, and others make effective cameo appearances, most of the characters are not written or established well and disappear abruptly.
Initially, Prabhas' Bhairava is compared to Kasi's protector Kaala Bhairava. However, Amitabh Bachchan's Ashwatthama considers him Karna, while the Kasi angle is totally forgotten in the second half.
Most of the supporting actors, including Shobana, Pasupathy, Saswata Chatterjee, and others are stuck with under-written parts, and solely carry the character with their screen presence and acting chops.