The trailer of director Nag Ashwin's dystopian sci-fi action film Kalki 2898 AD was dropped on Monday. Following the trailer's release, audiences drew parallels between Kalki's post-apocalyptic world and Hollywood movies like Dune and Mad Max: Fury Road. Despite several postponements and delays, the film, starring Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Kamal Haasan, and Disha Patani, is set to release in theatres on June 27. Recently, Sung Choi, a South Korean concept illustrator and designer who has worked with Marvel Studios, Disney and Warner Bros, has accused the makers of Kalki 2898 AD of "copying" his artwork.
Sung Choi shared a collage on social media featuring his illustration and a still from the film's trailer, stating, “Unauthorised use of the artwork is a bad practice. This makes me question doing art in this lawless environment. @Kalki2898AD @VyjayanthiFilms #kalki2898ad.” The original illustration was published on his website, ArtStation, ten years ago.
Following Sung Choi's criticism, netizens supported the artist and condemned the production house. One user commented on Instagram, “I hope you pursue legal action if possible. This is awful.” Another person noted, “The whole trailer gives off the vibe of Epoch, Mad Max, Dune, and other films. A lot of designs from the trailer are ripped off from the Halo series and Death Stranding too. Idk how some of the concept designers who worked on the film can stay silent.”
A comment read, “This is shameful and disappointing. They just copied and pasted a 10-year-old artwork on literally the first frame of the trailer. Even the weapons and other stuff look directly ‘inspired' by so many games and movies.” While some criticised the makers, others defended Nag Ashwin, suggesting he might be unaware of how his VFX team sourced the image.
This is not the first time a Prabhas film has faced plagiarism accusations. In 2023, an animation studio, Vaanarsena, claimed that the poster for Adipurush, starring Prabhas and Saif-Ali Khan, copied their work. The studio shared a collage of the Adipurush poster and the original Lord Shiva artwork on Instagram, calling for credit to the original creator. Artist Vivek Ram from Vaanarsena Studio also criticised the blatant copying on LinkedIn.
Previously, Lisa Ray censured the makers of Prabhas' Saaho for allegedly plagiarising artwork from Bengaluru-based artist Shilo Shiv Suleman for one of the film's posters. She shared images comparing the original artwork and the Saaho poster on Instagram, highlighting the similarities.
Kalki 2898 AD features a star-studded cast including Kamal Haasan, Prabhas, Deepika Padukone and Disha Patani. The mythology-inspired sci-fi film is directed by Nag Ashwin. Backed by Aswini Dutt, Kalki 2898 AD will be released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.