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Kalki 2898 AD has a non-linear timeline that begins during the period of the Mahabharata and then skits between eras to finally conclude in the dystopian future of 2898 AD. Speaking about his film, which stars Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Kamal Hasaan, director Nag Ashwin has said: “Our film starts in Mahabharata and it ends in 2898. It spans 6,000 years of distance and time. So, trying to create worlds that are there here, imagining what it could be like, still keeping it Indian and not making it look like a Blade Runner,” Hindustan Times reports.
There was a ton of hype surrounding the release of Kalki 2898 AD, which was released in theatres on 27 June. The star cast, from across film industries, is naturally the movie’s greatest draw, but so is its Orwellian storyline which features a dystopian and post-catastrophic world where the river Ganga has dried up, leading to a scarcity of basic resources, and only a single city, Kasi, remains. While a majority of the residents struggle to survive, the rich continue to rule from within the walled gates of The Complex, a massive mega-city structure in the shape of an inverted pyramid that towers over Kasi. The only chance of saving one section of mankind from the other lies with Kalki, the tenth and final avatar of Vishnu, who descends upon the earth to secure justice and order.
Going by trailer alone, one can expect a blend of action, humour and the ultimate war of good vs evil taking place among the grimy backdrop of the ruins of the city. In short, it is the true definition of a dystopian film. If you enjoyed Kalki 2898 AD and are looking for more dystopian flicks like it — we’ve got you covered.
Liked watching Kalki 2898 AD? You'll also love these 7 dystopian films on Netflix and Amazon Prime that will blow your mind and make you question reality itself
Starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, and Florence Pugh and Austin Butler in Part 2, Dune is set in a dystopian future where the protagonist, a young gifted man named Paul Atreides (Chalamet), is tasked with travelling to and taking control of Arrakis, a dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the safety of his family and his people. However, malevolent forces, all gunning for a supply of melange, the planet’s special resource, threaten his every move.
At the core of it, The Matrix series starring Keanu Reeves, is a dystopian piece of work. The first part of the classic franchise introduces the audience to a dystopian future, in which humans are unknowingly trapped inside the Matrix, which is a simulated reality created by intelligent machines that use their bodies as an energy source. However, when computer programmer Thomas Anderson, better known as Neo (Reeves) stumbles upon the truth, he joins a group of all-black, leather-donning experts, who rebel against the AI superagents.
Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Mad Max: Fury Road displays a tyrant named Immortan Joe enslaving the survivors inside a desert fortress called the Citadel. A lone rebel, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) then hatches a plan to help the despot's five wives escape, a mission for which she ties up with Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), a former captive. What follows is a deadly and nail-biting chase through the barren and sandy Wasteland, as the fugitives attempt to outrun Joe and his henchmen.
This disturbing dystopian tragedy is an important watch, which has a greater social message about chauvinism and the male gaze. The movie, by Manish Jha, is set in a distant future in a certain village where, due to the practice of female infanticide, there are no women left in the region. Ramsharan (Sudhir Paney), who is desperate for his son to marry, somehow comes across the one lone woman present in the entire hamlet. However, things take a dark turn when she enters their home.
Those who have already watched Kalki 2898 AD will find that the film has taken some inspiration from Dune and Blade Runner 2049. The latter, which is arguably one of the most compelling dystopian movies of recent times, follows a new blade runner Officer K (Ryan Gosling), who comes across a mankind-ending sort of secret and embarks on a mission that can only be completed once he finds Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former blade runner who's been MIA for 30 years.
Starring Nawazuddin Siddique, Jackky Bhagnani and Prachi Desai, this 2017 flick by Ramiz Ilham Khan and Maitrey Bajpai is set in the dystopian future of 2067, when Random (Bhagnani), a desperate man with an artificial heart, undertakes an illegal Oxygen deal which leads to an outbreak of complete chaos, where humans begin to fight among themselves for water, oxygen and other basic necessities that are essential for survival.
One of the greatest dystopian films of our times, V For Vendetta is set in a futuristic Britain that’s operating as a police state occupied by a fascist government. With their every move heavily monitored, residents of London are terrified to speak their minds or step one toe out of line for fear of being tortured in resettlement camps. When V (Hugo Weaving), a well-meaning vigilante, who decides to fight terror with terror, enters the fray — he becomes a voice for the people, in a dangerous mission for freedom where he’s assisted by a young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman).
