Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD has been making significant waves at the box office. Despite its success, the film has invited comparisons to Hollywood classics like Harry Potter, Dune, and Mad Max. While Ashwin has previously dismissed these comparisons, he recently revealed the two films that truly inspired his Prabhas-starrer.

In a recent interview with Zoom, Ashwin was asked about any influence from the Iron Man franchise. He responded, “We grew up watching Marvel films. I would say Guardians of the Galaxy had more of an influence than Iron Man. Definitely, Star Wars is a huge influence. I love Star Wars, so that is subconsciously a part of my aesthetic.” He also mentioned that Harshith Reddy’s character, Luke, was inspired by Star Wars' Luke Skywalker.

When asked about the similarities between Kamal Haasan’s character Yaskin and Harry Potter’s Voldemort, Ashwin clarified that the fantasy series did not inspire him. “Our references were these old Tibetan monks, who are supposed to be 120-130 years old. Sir (Kamal Haasan) always mentioned the portrait 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 movie references for that ancient look.” He added that the only Harry Potter reference was Vinay Kumar’s character Sirius, akin to Sirius Black from the Harry Potter series.

Kalki 2898 AD has been unstoppable at the box office. According to Sacnilk.com, the film has amassed Rs 507 crore in India alone. Produced on a massive budget, the film has seen significant support from its lead actor, Prabhas. In an interview with NDTV, Ashwin revealed that Prabhas had unwavering faith in the project even during challenging times. “He really believed in the project from the get-go. He believed even when things were taking too long, even when things were hard. He always believed in my project and in my vision. Even though I was only two films old, he was the biggest cheerleader for the film. He would say, ‘This is going to be massive, it’s going to be bigger than everything.’”

Ashwin continued, “He was pumping us up because we needed it, but he really believed in it. There were times when we would sit and talk, and those pumps were what we needed to get through. He was fully on board with this film once he signed on.”

Inspired by the Mahabharata and set in a dystopian future, Kalki 2898 AD centers on four main characters: SUM-80 (Deepika Padukone), a pregnant woman carrying the child believed to be the 10th avatar of Vishnu; Ashwatthama (Amitabh Bachchan), the immortal protector of the unborn child; Supreme Yaskin (Kamal Haasan), a ruthless villain determined to kill the child to prevent his own downfall; and Bhairava (Prabhas), a bounty hunter willing to sell anyone for the right price.