Mahabharat Actor Mukesh Khanna, who played Bhishma in BR Chopra’s TV show based on the epic, reviewed Kalki 2898 AD, which has been heavily inspired by the Hindu epic.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Khanna said that while he enjoyed the movie and its production, he found certain aspects to be problematic. Khanna said he found the filmmakers’ decision to change elements of the Mahabharata to be offensive.
Speaking of the same, Mukesh Khanna said, “In the beginning, when Krishna cursed Ashwatthama by removing his ‘mani,’ this never happened. I want to ask the makers, how could you presume to know more than the Vyas Muni, who said that what doesn’t exist here cannot exist elsewhere? It wasn’t Krishna who removed Ashwatthama’s ‘mani.’ I’ve been reading the Mahabharata since childhood; I can tell you that it was Draupadi who instructed that his ‘mani’ should be removed, after he killed all five of her children.”
Khanna continued, “There was a big battle between Arjun and Ashwatthama. They were wielding the Brahmastra, but only Arjun knew how to reverse the attack. Because Ashwatthama couldn’t, he decided to fire the Brahmastra towards Abhimanyu’s wife. Krishna protected her for nine months because she was pregnant. The reason I’m telling this story in such detail is because I don’t understand how Krishna could command Ashwatthama to protect him in the future in Kalki? How can someone as powerful as Krishna ask someone like Ashwatthama to protect him?”
Mukesh Khanna said that every Hindu should be offended by these changes, just like they were after watching Adipurush. “The liberties that you’ve taken are inexcusable. We think that South filmmakers have more respect for our traditions, but what happened here?” He said that the government should set up a special committee with the power to pass or reject any project with mythological connections in the script.
Khanna added that the first half of the movie was too slow, and that the movie is designed to appeal to Western sensibilities. He said, “The level of intellect with which the movie has been made is fine for Hollywood. People are more intelligent than us over there. Forgive me, but audiences in Odisha and Bihar are not going to understand this kind of filmmaking.”
Starring Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, and Kamal Haasan, Kalki 2898 AD has grossed over Rs. 700 crore worldwide in a week. It’s the highest-grossing Indian film of the year.
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