Kalki 2898 AD director Nag Ashwin says sequel should ‘take less time’ to release FilmyMeet

Kalki 2898 AD’s cliffhanger ending left audiences eager for more, but the wait for the sequel won’t be long as work on the second installment is already underway.

Director Nag Ashwin tells us, “Yes, work is happening on the second one. We had shot portions of it in the earlier schedules when part one was being filmed. We shot for about 20 days. But there’s still a long way to go in terms of planning and thinking.” He continues, “However, the second part should hopefully take lesser time to complete and release than the first one.”

The creation of Kalki 2898 AD took approximately five years, due to the ground breaking visual effects needed to bring its world to life. The film, which released in June, starred Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Prabhas and Kamal Hassan in lead roles.

For the film’s story, the 38-year-old filmmaker took inspiration from Mahabharata, and he mentions that the second installment will take the narrative forward.

But dealing with history, mythology and Gods can get tricky. Did he have apprehensions? 

“What we chose to do and the way we did it, such a situation didn’t arise,” says Ashwin, adding, “It didn’t come to a point where we had to be overtly cautious. What’s written in Mahabharata, we kept it straightforward that way.”

Ashwin further says that he felt now was the correct time to introduce audiences in our country to our own stories. “I felt it was the right time to tell this story. There is a huge audience in our country- not just in cities, but smaller towns who embrace stories like Marvel and Star Wars. I felt we should explore our homegrown superheroes, it is very Indian,” Ashwin wraps up.