Kalki 2898 AD Plot Summary
During the great war of Kurukshetra wherein the Kauravas and the Pandavas fought against each other, Ashwatthama of the Kauravas tried to kill Krishna of the Pandavas. Ashwatthama is cursed with immortality and must protect the reincarnation of Krishna.
During the battle, Krishna strips off the stone from Ashwattama’s forehead – Shivmani which possesses his powers.
6000 years after Kurukshetra, the world is nothing but a state of post-apocalyptic ruins where no one believes in the Gods of the previous generations. With no rain for almost 800 years, the citizens are now willing to sacrifice their friends and family to gain access to The Complex.
What is The Complex?
The Complex is a fully functioning paradise in the city of Kasi, the last city in the world with humans. The Complex is run by Commander Manas and the place is filled with wealthy people who have unlimited food and water while the poor are left outside.
Manas often sets out bounties for the common people who hope to win a chance to live inside The Complex. Along with Counsellor Bani, Manas runs a project – Project K for Supreme Leader Yaskin, who rules over this post-apocalyptic world.
What is Project K?
Commander Manas and Counsellor Bani are working on Project K wherein scientists are looking for an extremely superior child who is supposed to be the second coming of Krishna. At the lab, fertile women are artificially inseminated so that they carry the reincarnation of Krishna.
Once the foetus is developed into a baby (i.e. upon reaching the 150-day mark), the scientists use machines to extract an essence i.e. serum from the foetus. Yaskin wishes to consume the serum from the reincarnated baby to immortalize himself and assume a God-like position in the new age.
However, the women are never able to carry the child up to the 150-day mark. A device that can identify the reincarnation of Krishna is with The Rebels, the people against Yaskin and his ideologies.
Who are The Rebels? What is Shambhala?
The Rebels live in Shambhala, another fully functioning primitive society away from Kasi. The poor and the downtrodden who are willing to fight Yaskin live in Shambala under the leadership of Mariam. Shambala is hidden away from Yaskin’s followers to protect the people living there. Mariam sends Romi out to Kasi to look for the woman bearing the reincarnation of Krishna.
In Kasi, Romi finds a young girl Raya and helps save her from being taken to Manas’ lab where she could be used in Project K. Romi also saves a pregnant woman named Divya from Manas’ goons and accidentally breaks the device in the process. The device contains Ashwatthama’s Shivmani which Raya picks up. Romi and Divya are killed by Manas but Raya manages to escape with the Shivmani.
Who is Bhairava?
The Rebels that accompanied Romi escape and one of them ends up being captured by a bounty hunter named Bhairava. Bhairava is a fighter who desperately wants to live inside the complex. After his female friend – Roxie takes him on a trip inside the complex, he decides to collect a lot of points by hunting bounties to forever live inside the complex.
At the same time, Counsellor Bani discovers Gandiva, the divine bow used by Arjuna of the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war. Bani is worried that the reincarnation of Krishna is near.
Does Ashwatthama get his powers back?
Meanwhile, Raya manages to escape and finds herself inside the hiding spot that Ashwatthama has been in. Ashwatthama gets his powers back after taking his Shivmani from Raya and learns that the woman bearing the reincarnation of Krishna is in danger. He shows up to try and save SUM-80 (Sumati).
Who is SUM-80 (Sumati)?
SUM-80 (Sumati) was born and raised inside Manas’ lab and is one among hundreds of pregnant women who are part of Project K. Sumati sees the pregnant women and their foetus’ being killed after the serum extraction process. She asks a spy named Lily, who is a part of The Rebels, to help save her unborn child.
The serum extraction malfunctions but the scientist manages to extract a single drop of serum from Sumati’s womb. Lily sacrifices her life to save Sumati and she is taken to Shambala by Lily’s friends – Veeran, Ajju and Kyra.
What happens in Shambala?
Manas sets a very high bounty on Sumati which prompts many hunters to look for her. Kyra is killed in the process of saving Sumati while Ajju is injured. Ashwatthama and Raya show up just in time and save Sumati. Bhairava shows up there too and helps Ashwattama kill the other bounty hunters to reduce the competition.
Ashwattama and Bhairava finally clash and the latter is defeated. Ashwattama protects Sumati as the Rebels lead them to Shambala. As soon as Sumati arrives there, it rains for the first time in hundreds of years. Mariam is convinced that Sumati is carrying their saviour and they treat her with utmost care.
Does Bhairava defeat Ashwatthama?
Bhairava cons one of the Rebels and enters Shambala wherein he tries to beat Ashwattama. However, he is not able to do so despite using all his might. Ashwattama knocks Bhairava out but Manas and his army who were following Bhairava and led to Shambala. Manas traps Ashwattama and wage war against The Rebels.
Manas kills Mariam and caputres Sumati. However, Bhairava ends up touching Ashwattama’s cane and awakens Karna of the Kauravas. Bhairava, as Karna saves Sumati by killing Manas with the cane. However, he soon breaks out of his trance and resumes behaving like Bhairava again.
How does Kalki 2898 AD end?
Bhairava takes Sumati to Kasi to win a chance to live inside The Complex. Ashwatthama tries to save her but fails. At the same time, Bani tells Yakin about Arjuna’s bow – Gandiva and hands over the drop of serum extracted from Sumati’s foetus. Yaskin consumes the singular drop and ages backwards.
Bani is shocked to see the power that a single drop of the serum holds. Yaskin wields Gandiva that once could not be touched by a human. He tells Bani that he will go looking for Sumati on his own.
Read More: Kalki 2898 AD — Movie Review (Coming Soon)