Arshad Warsi, ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ poster and Nag Ashwin
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A few days ago, Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi shared his views on the recently released Kalki 2898 ADand called Prabhas’ character a ‘joker’. The clip went viral and after several industry insiders reacted to it, the film’s director Nag Ashwin finally broke his silence regarding the issue.
Replying to a tweet from a fan who had shared a clip from Kalki 2898 AD and mentioned that the particular scene is greater than the whole of Bollywood, Nag asked fans to not segregate the film industries as north and south and not to make it a Bollywood versus Telugu film industry issue.
The director, who pointed out that Arshad should have chosen his words better, also mentioned that he’s sending Bujji (the companion AI droid from the film) toys to the actor’s children. Nag also added that he will work hard to make sure Arshad feels Prabhas has done a good job in the upcoming sequel for Kalki 2898 AD.
Replying to another tweet, the filmmaker mentioned that there’s too much hate in the world and we should try not to add to it which is something Prabhas will also agree with.
In a podcast interaction, Arshad said he was “sad” that Prabhas was made to look like a joker in the sci-fi film. “Amit ji (Amitabh Bachchan) was unbelievable. Prabhas, I am really sad, why was he… he was like a joker. Why? I want to see a Mad Max. I want to see Mel Gibson over there. Tumne usko kya bana diya yaar. Kyu karte hain aisa mujhe nahin samajh mein aata (What did you make him? Why do they do such things?)“ Arshad had said.
Unsurprisingly, the comment was met with a backlash on social media from fans. Actors Siddhu Jonnalagadda, Nani and Sudheer Babu, and director Ajay Bhupathi called out Arshad for his comment and Vishnu Manchu, president of MAA, wrote a letter to Poonam Dhillon, president of CINETAA, condemning Arshad’s statement.
With an ensemble cast that includes Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone and Disha Patani, Kalki 2898 AD was released on June 27 to much fanfare on thousands of screens across the world. The film which recorded astounding pre-release ticket sales released in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and other languages. worldwide.
Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Kalki 2898 AD features Amitabh Bachchan as the immortal Ashwatthama and Prabhas as Bhairava, a bounty hunter. Kamal Haasan plays the role of Supreme Yaskin while Deepika Padukone plays the role of Sumathi.
With cinematography by Djordje Stojiljkovic and music by Santhosh Narayanan, the film’s editing is by Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao.
The film, produced by Vyjayanthi Movies, completed its 50 days in theatres this Independence Day. Just 16 days post its release, the makers of Kalki 2898 AD announced that it has hit the ₹1000 crore mark worldwide.
