Well, Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD finally made its digital debut, and the internet has come alive once again—but not entirely in a way the filmmakers were hoping for. With an all-star lineup featuring Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, and Kamal Haasan, the film was expected to be nothing short of a cinematic spectacle. But instead of a chorus of applause, we’ve got ourselves a spicy serving of mixed reactions and.
.. wait for it.
.. a social media showdown with none other than Arshad Warsi at the center.
For those just catching up, Arshad Warsi, known for his no-holds-barred humor, recently dished out some scorching hot takes on Kalki 2898 AD in a podcast with Samdish Bhatia. He didn’t mince words, calling Prabhas’ character Bhairava “like a joker.” Yup, you read that right—a joker.
And now that the film has hit Netflix in Hindi and Prime Video in other languages, it seems the internet is divided on whether Arshad was brutally honest or just plain brutal. One snarky commentator on X (formerly Twitter) wrote, “#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.
” Ouch. #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.
— Jatinder (charlie) (@meJat32) August 22, 2024 Full support to Arshad Warsi. It takes courage to even call a performance jokerish in today’s day and age especially with the kind of mafia that film industry has turned into. Prabhas garu it seems.
Tell your garu (whatever that means) to shave his neck and back— Amanda Kini (@WastedHoe) August 23, 2024 Another user joined the roasting fest by sharing stills of Prabhas from Kalki 2898 AD alongside his much-maligned role in Adipurush, declaring, “#ArshadWarsi didn’t say anything wrong here. Prabhas was literally a joker in #Kalki, he was having all cringy scenes in the film.” The comment section was practically ablaze, with another critic chiming in, “Prabhas is no doubt a Pan-India star, but acting-wise? Meh.
Arshad Warsi is 100% right...
His Kalki look is cringe.” arshad warsi wasn’t lying when he said prabhas looked like a joker— vipin (@djfrankkie) August 23, 2024 #ArshadWarsi is right about Prabhas's film Kalki and Prabhas's acting. Kalki's film is a film worth watching for small children, Prabhas's acting is also similar.
pic.twitter.com/KYgXP3CK3A — shamshadkh@n (@shamshadBRS) August 20, 2024 #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 pic.
twitter.com/4ZwdX3Ezls — Real Box officeTM (@Real_Box_0ffice) August 21, 2024 But not all were there to throw shade—some viewers found solace in the film’s Mahabharat sequences, suggesting that the movie should’ve just doubled down on that epic instead of flirting with dystopian sci-fi. One fan lamented, “Nag Ashwin, f*ck that dystopian concept.
Rather make a full-fledged Mahabharata. #Kalki2898ADOnPrime.” Well, that’s one way to give feedback! For those who missed it, in Arshad’s now-infamous podcast appearance, he didn’t hold back on his thoughts, saying, “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 diya yaar (What have you made of him?).
” Naturally, Prabhas’ fans and a few of his industry pals—including actors Sudheer Babu, Siddhu Jonnalagadda, and Nani—weren’t having it. They jumped in to defend their hero, reminding Arshad that one man’s joker is another man’s epic hero. Or something like that.
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