The Mahabharata in Science Fiction

He had seen the trickery of the Pandavas, the intrigues of Shri Krishna. Aswatthama probably felt that if he had not done this, the Pandavas would not have won the war against the Kauravas in the literal sense. Mahabharata was not just a war, it was a crusade. Weapons were forgotten with the conch shelling after sunset, weapons were not used even during the battle against the unarmed. Or, let's say that even when the war was going on, religion was taken care of. However, Arjuna killed Karna, the archer who came down to remove the stuck chariot wheel.

On the other hand, it was difficult for the Pandavas who were fighting against their own Guru Dronacharya to win the battle of Kurukshetra. Understanding this, Krishna dismissed the rumor that Drona had been killed in Asvattha as a pretext to remove him from the battle, that too from the truthful Yudhishthira. Asvatthama is the son of Drona. Drona was confused by the rumor that Drona-son Asvatthama had been killed by killing his own elephant named Asvatthama. His son was overwhelmed with grief and laid down his arms. The Pandavas, who were waiting for that opportunity, killed the unarmed Drona through Dhrishtadyumna and won the battle of Kurukshetra.

The first sequence of the Telugu film 'Kalki 2898 AD' begins after the battle of Kurukshetra is over. Ashwatthama, enraged by the killing of his father Drona, sneaks into the Pandava's camp at night and kills Draupadi's five children while they are sleeping. Enraged, Arjuna releases Brahmastra to kill Aswatthama. Drona-putra also attacks with Brahmastra in response. Fearing that the collision of the two Brahmastras will destroy the earth itself, Brahma stops it and orders both of them to take back the Brahmastras. Although Arjuna takes the weapon back, Aswatthama changes the direction of his weapon and drops it in the womb of Uttara, the pregnant wife of Arjuna's son Abhimanyu. Enraged by this act, Krishna takes away the gem from Mahadev's groom, cursing Aswatthama, who was born with a gem on his forehead, never to die, but to beg for his own death. Immediately realizing his mistake, Aswatthama asks Krishna to give him a chance to atone. Krishna tells Tamseka to kill herself and come to her own rescue in time.

Kalki is considered to be the tenth and last incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Written and directed by Nag Ashwin, the first installment of the film 'Kalki 2898 AD' focuses on the Kali Yuga, 6000 years after the Kurukshetra war and before the birth of Kalki. The director has designed the first series focusing on Aswatthama, the character who suffered injustice in Mahabharata. The first part of 'Kalki 2898' is also focused on Aswaththama due to Amitabh Bachchan playing the said character.

In the time of 2898 AD, heretics rule the earth. The holy river Ganga has dried up, the earth is crying for water, it has not rained for centuries. The earth has turned into a desert. Of the last named cities, only Kashi survives, where Yaskin has a separate 'complex' of his own. In the triangle-shaped 'complex' floating in the air, all natural resources such as water and forest have been exploited from the earth. You have to pay a lot of money just to enter the 'complex', which is only available for special people.

Kamal Haasan, who plays the role of Yaskin, is searching for a serum by imprisoning healthy women and girls with the ability to conceive in a laboratory in the 'complex'. Yaskin, who has become 200 years old, will regain strength and youth by using the serum extracted from the body of a person who has been pregnant for more than 150 days. He also knows that Kalki will be born from one of the ones in his lab, so he orders the general to be on high alert. Another powerful character in the

film is Bhairav. Bhairava, who initially appears as a 'bounty hunter' for Yaskin (a person who receives a reward for capturing and surrendering someone) is later expanded as Karna. The character portrayed by Prabhas is running after money to live Ash's life by entering the 'complex'. He has also built his state-of-the-art vehicle, Buzzi, by combining the devices thrown into the kawadi from the 'complex'. Bhairav, well-versed in martial arts, is on a mission to catch Sumati, who escaped from the complex's laboratory for money.

Sumati, who is about to give birth to Kalki, manages to escape from the The character played by Deepika Padukone is helped by some rebels while escaping from the 'Complex' and Ashwatthama helps them to take them to Sambala from there. The second part of 'Kalki 2898 AD' focuses more on the struggle between Asvattha, who is defending Kalki, and Bhairav, who is trying to capture her. The film has hit the beat making the second series more awaited.

'Kalki 2898 AD' is the fourth film made by 38-year-old director Nag Ashwin Reddy in the nine years since he started directing films. In this, he has worked hard to modernize mythology through 'science fiction'. Well, the first part of 'Kalki 2898 AD' has not yet entered the story, but it has prepared a background for the later story. Since most of the time of the film is spent on this background building, it may seem a bit boring. It is not that the director Ashwin did not try his best so that the same despondency does not wake up in the audience. He has not only brought Brahmanandam in a guest role, but has also used Prabhas himself in 'comedy sequences', but all those efforts seem futile.

Apart from that, the director has also made a 'love sequence' between Prabhas and Disha Patani, but the film has not been effective as it has no relation with the story. Apart from that, Ashwin has tried to give a 'surprise' to the audience by playing some directors and actors in guest roles. However, in a film that has created hype since the tailoring of the film, such superficial spices were not sure to irritate the audience. The director should be serious about the fact that after adding the name of Kalki, the audience will definitely go to the hall thinking about the story of Kali Yuga. However, the director seems to have left all the stories for the 'sequel'.

'Kalki 2898 AD' is not a film to be remembered much for its story, screenplay, as much as for its technical aspects. Made at a cost of 600 crores, this film is also the highest budget film of all time. Accordingly, the investment in its technical side has also been done with open heart. The director could have taken the help of CG (Computer Graphics) to make it, be it the Bujji used by Bhairav ​​or the airborne car carrying some of the people who came for Kashi, but he made it real by a team of skilled engineers to give it a comparatively more believable look. The director believed that it would launch the cutting-edge aircraft of the future. Because the time period of this film was the peak of Kali Yuga, which was 875 years later than today's time, i.e. 2898 AD.

However, the film is also accused of being more influenced by some Hollywood films in 'VFX and CGI'. It is not pleasant for such a film made after four years and expensive to be tagged as affected or stolen, even if it is compared to the famous Hollywood's Mad Max: Fury Road, Star Wars, Dune or the visual effects of Marvel movies. Director Ashwin has also admitted in an interview that he is more influenced by Star Wars. Well, director Ashwin's visual imagination is top notch. He has made the fight between Bhairav ​​and Ashwatthama so alive and fierce that the audience is thrilled by it. Amitabh Bachchan excels in

acting throughout the film. The energy of this 81-year-old man is admirable, and the film seems to have picked up speed after his arrival. So, Prabhas is considered the lead actor of the film, but the director has spent more time establishing his 'bounty hunter' character, and has failed to convince the audience. Kamal Haasan has left an impressive impression on the character of Yaskin, despite appearing in only one scene. The next 'sequel' has been awaited due to his character. Deepika did not get much 'screen space' and roles to show her acting. Yaskin's eyes covered to protect her womb, the character is in a state of fear and terror throughout the film. The

film has been praised by more than 80 percent of the reviews and has brought a boom at the box office. 'Kalki 2898 AD' made a gross collection of 485 crores worldwide within four days of its release and by the 11th day it has done business of 800 crores. Prabhas, who had previously suffered a major failure with 'Adipurush', has got a big relief at this time, while the success of the ambitious 'big budget film' based on Hindu mythology has also increased the scope of Indian films.