Filmmaker Nag Ashwin, whose sci-fi drama, Kalki 2898 AD, continues to dominate the box office, recently shared that he was inspired by two Hollywood films during the making of his film. It wasn’t Harry Potter, though.
During a recent interview with Zoom, Ashwin shared, “We grew up watching Marvel films. I would say for Prabhas’s character, Guardians of the Galaxy was more of an influence than Iron Man. Definitely, Star Wars is a huge influence. I love Star Wars, so that is subconsciously a part of my aesthetic.”
Denying taking inspiration for Kamal Haasan’s character from Harry Potter’s chief antagonist, Lord Voldemort, Ashwin added, “Our references were these old Tibetan monks, who are supposed to be 120–130 years old. Sir (Kamal Haasan) always mentioned the portrait of Dorian Gray (from Oscar Wilde’s 1890 philosophical novel The Picture of Dorian Gray). That was Sir’s inspiration. We didn’t have many film references for that ancient look.”
However, the filmmaker shared a trivia about Kalki 2898 AD. He mentioned that Vinay Kumar’s character Sirius is derived from the popular Harry Potter character Sirius Black (played by Gary Oldman in the movies).
Earlier, during an interaction with IndiaToday.in, Ashwin reacted to Kalki 2898 AD’s comparison to Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 film Dune. “I had never read Dune till just before the movie came, and I think it’s a beautiful piece of work. And yes, I am a huge Star Wars fan. So there must have been some subconscious referencing that I must have probably done,” said Ashwin.
Kalki 2898 AD is led by an ensemble cast, including actors Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, and Kamal Haasan, among others. The film has earned over Rs 507 crore in India and is also making waves internationally. Trade analyst Ramesh Bala shared on X, “#Kalki2898AD now blazes into the $16 Million club #Prabhas #EpicBlockbusterKalki @PrathyangiraUS.”
The second part of Kalki 2898 AD has already been announced.
Source Agencies
