Nag Ashwin’s Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan-starrer Kalki 2898 AD was released on Netflix in Hindi and on Prime Video in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada on Thursday. After the film’s OTT release, the internet weighed in, with some seemingly taking actor Arshad Warsi’s side in the drama.

Internet reviews Kalki 2898 AD

Since its digital release, Kalki 2898 AD has received mixed responses. While some thought the film had its high moments, others believed Arshad wasn’t wrong in his recent assessment of Prabhas’ character Bhairava.

One person wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “#Kalki2898AD: The story deserved a better film. Still a lot to like. Highlights for me were all things "avatar", hopefully, future parts are more of that & not the discount Hollywood sci-fi scraps. Arshad Warsi is wrong. Jokers are funny and Prabhas is spectacularly unfunny.”

Another shared stills of Prabhas from Kalki 2898 AD and his previous film Adipurush, writing, “#ArshadWarsi didn’t say anything wrong here. He didn’t like the character Prabhas was playing and one should be critical about that. Prabhas was literally a joker in #Kalki tbvh, he was having all cringy scenes in the film. #Prabhas #ArshadWarsi.”

“I just watched Kalki, and what #ArshadWarsi said, I stand by it,” chipped in another. One opined, “Prabhas is no doubt Pan india star..But Except Baahubali, he hasn't done anything is called Acting Masterclass..He is biggest crowd puller, but acting wise he is very average.. accept it or not..Arshad warsi is 100% right..His Kalki look is cringe..”

An Allu Arjun fan thought his favourite actor would’ve done a better job, “Saw Kalki today on Netflix. The movie was average. But i agree with @ArshadWarsi sir. #prabhas was like a joker in the movie. He is the biggest disappointment in my opinion. I think @alluarjun would have done a great job.”

One person also called out Nani and Prabhas' fans for adding to the discourse, “What Arshad actually tried to convey is that a star like Prabhas deserves better character treatment than what was offered in Kalki. We fanboys can be brutal with the slightest criticism of our favs but Actors like Nani should have shown more maturity.”

Some fans thought Kalki 2898 AD should’ve focused more on the Mahabharat episodes than the sci-fi portion, with one person writing, “I didn't liked Kalki. But am i the only one who thinks the Mahabharata sequences had some potential in the movie. I wish whole movie continued THIS serious tone of the scene. Nag Ashwin, f*ck that dystopian concept. Rather make a full-fledged Epic Mahabharata. #Kalki2898ADOnPrime.”

What went down

In a recent podcast with Samdish Bhatia, Arshad gave a brutally honest review of Kalki 2898 AD. “Maine Kalki dekhi, mujhe toh nhi acchi lagi. Mujhe bahut takleef hoti hai jab (I watched Kalki. Didn't like it. It hurts me when)… Amit ji was (mind-blown sounds) unbelievable. I can't understand that man. I swear if we got the power he has, life ban jaae (our lives would be set). He's unreal,” he said.

He also added, “Prabhas, I am really sad, why was he… he was like a joker. Why? I want to see a Mad Max. I want to see Mel Gibson over there. Tumne usko kya bana dia yaar. Kyu karte ho aisa mujhe nahi samajh mein aata (What have you made of it? Why do they do such things I never understand).” Actors Sudheer Babu, Siddhu Jonnalagadda and Nani called Arshad out for comparing Prabhas to a ‘joker’ in the film.

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