After much anticipation and hype, and almost four years of shoot, Kalki 2898 AD, starring Prabhas and Deepika Padukone in the lead roles, finally released in theatres on June 27, and it has shattered all records at the box office. The film fell only a little short of INR 100 crore on its first day, but even then, it has now become the biggest opener in the history of Indian cinema.
As per reports, Kalki 2898 AD earned a whopping INR 95 crore (USD 11.3 million) on its first day, thus, successfully dethroning Shah Rukh Khan’s 2023 release Jawan, which had earned the highest INR 65.50 crore (USD 7.8 million) on its opening day.
Out of the INR 95 crore, nearly INR 64.50 crore came from the Telugu box office alone. In Hindi, the film earned INR 24 crore, INR 4 crore in Tamil and INR 2.20 crore in Malayalam. Kalki 2898 AD has, thus, officially scripted history as it recorded the highest Day 1 figures in Indian cinema.
Besides Prabhas and Deepika, director Nag Ashwin’s dystopian thriller also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan and Disha Patani in key roles. Besides, it also has a host of cameos including that of Vijay Deverakonda, Dulquer Salmaan, SS Rajamouli, Mrunal Thakur, Ram Gopal Verma, and others.
Kalki 2898 AD draws its inspiration from the Indian epic Mahabharata, and it is set around 6000 years after the battle of Kurukshetra ended. Set in the now-dystopian city of Kashi, the film revolves around forces coming together to protect Deepika, who is carrying the 10th avatar of Vishnu, Kalki, in her womb.
(The article is published under a mutual content partnership arrangement between The Free Press Journal and Connected to India)