'Kalki 2898 AD' is currently creating tsunami at the box office. The Prabhas-led film is a blend of Hindu epic 'Mahabharata' and science fiction. It mainly revolves around four characters- pregnant woman named Sumathi (Deepika Padukone), who is carrying a child that is the apparently the 10th avatar of Lord Vishnu, the immortal Ashwatthama (played by Amitabh Bachchan) who has to protect the unborn child, a villain named Supreme Yaskin (Kamal Haasan), who rules the Complex and Bhairava (Prabhas), a bounty hunter who can do anything to enter the Complex. The movie has received mostly positive reviews from critics and audiences. But actor Mukesh Khanna, who played Bhishma in 'Mahabharat' has criticised the film. Read on to know why.
Mukesh Khanna posted a video on his YouTube channel, where he said he enjoyed 'Kalki 2898 AD' and admired the performances and production values, but found some things problematic. He was offended by the makers' decision to change the mythological elements.
Khanna said, “In the beginning, when Krishna curses Ashwatthama by removing his ‘mani’, this never happened. I want to ask the makers, how could you presume to know more than the Vyas muni, who said that what doesn’t exist here cannot exist elsewhere? It wasn’t Krishna who removed Ashwatthama’s ‘mani’. I’ve been reading the Mahabharata since childhood.
He further said, ''There was a big battle between Arjun and Ashwatthama. They were wielding the ‘Brahmastra’, but only Arjun knew how to reverse the attack. Because Ashwatthama couldn’t, he decided to fire the Brahmastra towards Abhimanyu’s wife. Krishna protected her with Sudarshan chakra for nine months because she was pregnant. The reason I’m telling this story in such detail is because I don’t understand how Krishna could command Ashwatthama to protect him in the future in Kalki? How can someone as powerful as Krishna ask someone like Ashwatthama to protect him?”
The 66-year-old also said that the liberties that have been taken are ''inexcusable''. He questioned, ''We think that South filmmakers have more respect for our traditions, but what happened here?” Khanna also said that the government should set up a special committee to look at the scripts that have mythological connections and pass it before it is made.
'Kalki 2898 AD', directed by Nag Ashwin also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, and Kamal Haasan among others. It has already made over Rs 700 crore worldwide in a week.
