It’s not Harry Potter, Nag Ashwin took inspiration from these Hollywood films for Kalki 2898 AD

Director Nag Ashwin, whose sci-fi drama Kalki 2898 AD continues to dominate the box office, recently revealed that he took inspiration from two Hollywood films while making his film. But it wasn’t Harry Potter.

In a recent Zoom interview, Ashwin said, “We grew up watching Marvel movies. I would say for Prabhas’ character, Guardians of the Galaxy was a bigger influence than Iron Man. Definitely, Star Wars is a huge influence. I love Star Wars, so it’s subconsciously part of my aesthetic.”

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Ashwin denied taking inspiration for Kamal Haasan’s character from Harry Potter’s main antagonist Lord Voldemort, adding, “Our references were these old Tibetan monks, who are supposed to be 120-130 years old. Sir (Kamal Haasan) would always mention the picture of Dorian Gray (from Oscar Wilde’s 1890 philosophical novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray). That was Sir’s inspiration. We didn’t have many film references for that old look.”

However, the filmmaker shared an anecdote about Kalki 2898 AD. He mentioned that Vinay Kumar’s character Sirius is derived from the popular Harry Potter character Sirius Black (played by Gary Oldman in the films).

Earlier, in an interaction with IndiaToday.in, Ashwin reacted to the comparison of Kalki 2898 AD with Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 film Dune. “I had never read Dune before the film came out, and I think it’s a beautiful piece of work. And yes, I am a huge Star Wars fan. So there must have been some subconscious references that I probably made,” Ashwin said.

Kalki 2898 AD is led by an ensemble cast, including actors Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Kamal Haasan among others. The film has grossed over Rs 507 crore in India and is also making waves internationally. Trade analyst Ramesh Bala shared on X, “#Kalki2898AD now enters the $16 crore club #Prabhas #EpicBlockbusterKalki @PrathyangiraUS.”

The second part of Kalki 2898 AD has already been announced.