Nag Ashwin's ambitious film Kalki 2898 AD is all set to hit the theatres on June 27. The sci-fi film boasts an ensemble cast of Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan and Disha Patani. With just days left for the film's release, Nag Ashwin talked to Film Companion about the experience of directing megastars like Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan. The director revealed that he felt “silly” to tell Amitabh Bachchan what needed to be done on the first day of the shoot. When asked how do you tell Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan what to do with the shot, Nag Ashwin candidly said, “I have no idea how to deal with Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan. I always found it very silly to try and tell them something about their acting or performance. But, especially to Mr Bachchan sir, because we started our journey with him in this film. Like, the very first day of the shoot was with him. And I was just clueless. I think it had been a long time since I shot anything, it had been around two years or three years and then the first person I had to direct was Amitabh Bachchan. I was like, ‘What am I gonna say?' Maybe, ‘Sir, a little slower?' It sounded silly.”
Despite their status as icons of cinema, Nag Ashwin said that Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan “were open and receptive” throughout the film.
Nag Ashwin added, “But, what I realised down the lane with all of them was that they want to be part of the process, they want to be directed. They don't want to think that they know what they are doing. Especially, the bigger they are, like Bachchan sir and Kamal sir, they are more open to being valuable and having more ideas. They were even more open to being directed. They don't want to do what they have done before. They were like 'Don't make me Mr Bachchan or Mr Kamal Haasan, I don't want to do that'.”
On Monday, the makers took the internet by storm as they unveiled the trailer of Kalki 2898 AD.
When asked what kind of a director he is, Nag Ashwin said, “There are a few things I let go and there are a few things that I take a long time to (execute). I think it is because I started off as an editor. So, there are a few things that others think they need to shoot a lot of times, and I am like no you don't, it is going to go very fast. So maybe I am that kind of guy.”