The trailer of the much-anticipated dystopian film Kalki 2898 AD was unveiled on Tuesday. The pan-India film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Prabhas, and Deepika Padukone in the lead roles. The Nag Ashwin film is influenced by Hindu mythology and features characters from the epic Mahabharata.
For a while, the film was known by its working title Project K until its title was revealed last year. Since then the date in the title has intrigued many. We take a look at the significance of the year in which Kalki 2898 AD is set.
Who is Kalki? The film talks about the Kalki avatar of Lord Vishnu, which has been written about in the Mahabharata. The scriptures mention the Kalki incarnation as the person who would bring about the end of the Kali Yuga, the current age of Hindu mythology. The messiah-like figure is said to arrive on a white horse with a flaming sword and put an end to all evil in the world, ending the Kali Yuga and bringing about the pralay (a cleansing of the cosmos).
Kalki 2898 AD’s trailer hints that Deepika Padukone’s character is pregnant with the Kalki incarnation. The forces of evil – led by Kamal Haasan – are after her, while Ashwatthama (Amitabh Bachchan) is protecting her. Prabhas plays a bounty hunter named Bhairava who is somewhere between the two sides, looking out for himself.
What Kalki’s link with 2898 AD? It is written in the Mahabharata that Kalki will be born at the end of the Kali Yuga. But the duration of the Kali Yuga is a subject of.
