Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Reveal ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ Details

The stars of “Kalki 2898 AD” revealed details of the anticipated Indian sci-fi epic at a national press launch in Mumbai on Wednesday.

While a budget for the film has not been officially revealed, Variety understands that it is in the region of $72 million. If correct, that would make it one of the most expensive Indian films of all time.

The event, at a suburban five-star hotel, began a mere 75 minutes late – par for the course for Bollywood, but highly unusual for the disciplined south Indian Telugu-language film industry where “Kalki 2898 AD” hails from. The ranks of media from across India waited patiently and greeted the arrival of the stars with fanboy and fangirl whoops and cheers.

Present at the launch were the film’s stars, Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone, and producers C. Aswani Dutt, Swapna Dutt and Priyanka Dutt of Vyjayanthi Movies, with “Baahubali” star Rana Daggubati serving as compere for the evening.

The film is written and directed by Nag Ashwin (“Mahanati”) who was not present at the event but sent a video message that provided setting details. Ashwin revealed that the film is set in a dystopian, post-catastrophic world with scarce resources, where a single city, Kasi, remains. The wealthy live in luxury within The Complex, a massive mega-city structure in the shape of an inverted pyramid that towers over Kasi. Those outside face harsh realities and aspire to make it…