Indian Sci-Fi Hit ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ to Premiere in Japan, Sequel Confirmed

Nag Ashwin’s Indian sci-fi hitting “Kalki 2898 AD” is heading for international waters, with Russia and Japan next on the release schedule.

The film will be released in Japan in early 2025 through Twin, a distribution business led by industry veteran Kabata Keizo. Twin has previously distributed S.S. Rajamouli’s “RRR” in Japan, where it became the highest-grossing Indian film in history.

The film is also slated for a Russian release, with a dubbed version likely in theaters in the coming months. The producers are still considering their possibilities in China, which has previously been a productive environment for select Indian commercial titles.

With a global revenue of $140 million, “Kalki 2898 AD” is the highest-grossing Indian film of 2024. Set in a dismal future, “Kalki 2898 AD” follows Bhairava (Prabhas), a formidable warrior with a strange backstory. As he travels across a world plagued by conflict and environmental disaster, Bhairava becomes caught in an old prophecy. Amitabh Bachchan plays Ashwatthama, an immortal entity from the Indian mythological epic “Mahabharata,” and Deepika Padukone plays Sumathi, a character who is pregnant with the unborn Kalki, an avatar of Vishnu. Kamal Haasan plays the antagonist Supreme Yaskin. The film combines elements of Indian mythology and futuristic technology, ending in epic confrontations that transcend both the physical and spiritual realms.

The film is produced by C. Aswani Dutt, Swapna Dutt, and Priyanka Dutt under the 50-year-old Indian company Vyjayanthi Movies. It is being shown at the Busan International Film Festival, where Priyanka Dutt and Swapna Dutt are in attendance.

A sequel is in the works, and it will feature an epic battle between Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, and Kamal Haasan’s characters. “We’re definitely smarter than the last one. We know the world better. We’ll know the production better. We’ve already identified CG companies and stuff. The script is almost kind of locked, and we’ve shot 35% of the film already, so we’ll be much faster.” Swapna Dutt said.

“Kalki 2898 AD” was a major financial gamble for the creators. With an estimated $72 million budget, it is one of the most costly Indian films ever made. When asked about their trust in the project’s success, Swapna Dutt emphasized her faith in the filmmaker’s vision.

“We trust Nag Ashwin a lot,” she explained. “He said, ‘Let’s climb a mountain.’ We climbed the first film [“Mahanati,” a biopic of top 1950s-1960s actor Savitri] and then the second one. He said, ‘Let’s bring an old actress to life,’ and we did along with him. This time, he said, ‘It’s Kalki’s birth.’ And we said, all in, let’s do it. He’s one of those very few filmmakers who contribute so much to cinema, who’s extremely honest in filmmaking. He doesn’t think anything except cinema while he’s making it. So it’s pure trust. It’s pure trust on him and the story he narrated.”

“Cinema itself is a gamble, so we are in for a bigger gamble,” Priyanka Dutt remarked.

Swapna Dutt hinted at grand ambitions for future installments in the “Kalki” universe, saying, “Primarily, I think with this setup, it’s these two parts, and then the spin-offs on what his head is spinning right now, only Nag Ashwin can tell us. He’s created a world. There could be lot of series, there could be animation, there could be comic books. There’s clearly a world, which is going to happen soon.”

Beyond the “Kalki” franchise, Vyjayanthi Movies is developing “Champion,” a period action love romance set in 1955 and directed by newcomer Pradeep Advaitham. They also have “Aakasam Lo Oka Tara,” which stars Dulquer Salmaan and is a family-based love story directed by Pavan Sadineni. Both films will be completed and released ahead of the “Kalki 2898 AD” sequel.