‘Kalki 2898 AD’ director Nag Ashwin’s Udupi connection

Nag Ashwin, the director of the globally successful film ‘Kalki – 2898 AD’, which has collected over ₹800 crore at the global box office, has a connection to Udupi. He was a student of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) known for providing excellent education on a global scale.

Nag Ashwin completed his BA in Journalism and Mass Communication at Manipal Institute of Communication (MIC), where he studied from 2001 to 2004.

Dr. Shubha H. S., Head of BA Programs and Coordinator – Multimedia Resource Centre at Manipal MIC, shared her thoughts, stating that Nag Ashwin was a simple and regular student who completed his education without engaging in excessive activities. He was recognized as a good student. The experiences in the Udupi-Manipal environment provided him with unique experiences.

Teachers expressed surprise at the extraordinary talent of this once-simple student.

The story of the movie ‘Kalki’ starts with the Mahabharata and is set in the timeline of 2898 AD. The unique way of choosing characters from the Mahabharata and placing them in a future event forms the storyline.

The story begins on the battlefield of Kurukshetra and continues until the end of Kaliyuga. The film is imaginatively set in the first city of the world, Kashi. The initial scene of the Kurukshetra battlefield, depicting the conversation between Lord Krishna and Ashwatthama, has garnered widespread appreciation.

Film critics have stated that by creating the Kalki universe, Nag Ashwin is set to take Indian cinema to another level, surpassing even Hollywood’s DC and Marvel Universes.

Translated from a Kannada article by Avin Shetty